Top Items:

Standardizing the Microsoft Office Open XML formats — Today we are making a really important announcement about our XML formats. We are going to bring the Microsoft Office Open XML formats to a standards body with the intention of eventually making the formats an ISO standard.
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Microsoft to standardize Office formats … Microsoft intends to submit file formats for its new Office 12 applications to the European standards body ECMA International. The company hopes this will allay concern about its level of control over document formats.

Microsoft standardizes Office formats - Jean Paoli interview
Discussion:
Don Dodge on The Next …

Google's Shopping Service to List User's Local Stores — Google executives said last night that the company planned to move quickly to capitalize on its new Google Base database service, adding a feature that lets merchants provide local shopping information.
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Google Unveils Tool to Map Shopping Trips
Discussion:
Alice Hill's Real Tech News

Lawsuits galore against Sony over rootkit; RIAA head doesn't get it — The ongoing Sony rootkit fiasco just keeps getting better. Last week brought news of a round of high-profile lawsuits against Sony by a number of parties. First, up was a class-action lawsuit against Sony filed …
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Companies I'd like to Profile (but don't exist) — There are companies I review every day that I don't write about. Reasons vary - it's been done already and the product isn't even as good as what's been done, its a mostly or totally one-way application, or it isn't consumer focused …

AOL Joins Start-Up Company to Offer Web Video Distribution — America Online reached an unusual arrangement yesterday with a start-up company that will allow almost any producer of video content to distribute programming on its service, splitting revenue from advertising or fees.

Microsoft SSE Thoughts — Everyone knows Ray Ozzie is my hero right? I spent the first several years of my professional career as a Lotus Notes developer, and even worked for Lotus itself for a brief stint in 1996, so you can imagine what an Ozzie disciple I am. I even was able to pay fealty to him in person back in 2004.
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Microsoft Aims to Mesh Disparate Calendars, Contacts
Discussion:
Web 2.0 Explorer, InsideMicrosoft, Darwinian Web, ProgrammableWeb.com and Microsoft Watch

Cleaning Up Sony's Rootkit Mess — Late last month, Windows expert Mark Russinovich revealed Sony installing a rootkit to hide its "XCP" DRM (digital rights management) software as installed on users' PCs. The DRM software isn't something a typical user would want; the "rights" …
Discussion:
Schneier on Security, Between the Lines, Spyware Confidential, OpsanBlog, Lot 49 and Boing Boing

Xbox 360 Arrival Spawns Midnight Madness Frenzy — More than 4,500 retailers will open at 12:01 a.m. to sell the next-generation video game console. — REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 21, 2005 — In less than 24 hours, gamers and adrenaline junkies alike will converge on thousands of retail outlets …
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Excuse us while we change back into our pajamas — Once upon a time, some friends who met in the casual atmosphere of the blogosphere (us) got together and decided it would be groovy to start a blog company. "We could call it Pajamas Media," we said, referring to the now-famous quote by whatshisface …

The Second Coming of Content and RSS Feeds — Feedburner CEO Dick Costolo has just posted what I think is a milestone post for RSS and Web 2.0: How feeds will change the way content is distributed, valued, and consumed. In it he expounds on the future direction of his company Feedburner …
Discussion:
A VC, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, chew shop, The Shifted Librarian, Niall Kennedy's Weblog and Performancing.com

Microsoft Security Advisory (911302) — Vulnerability in the way Internet Explorer Handles onLoad Events Could Allow Remote Code Execution — Microsoft is investigating new public reports of vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows 98, on Windows 98 Second Edition …

How Riya Recognition Works — Viswadep wrote here about what might happen if the technology behind Riya was used for evil. Let me address how the Riya recognition system works and how its limitations make it very unlikely that we could use this for security or "evil" applications.

World Digital Library Planned — Library of Congress Envisions Collection To Bridge Cultures — The Library of Congress is launching a campaign today to create the World Digital Library, an online collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, posters, stamps and other materials from its holdings …

Self 2.0: Internet Users Put a Best Face Forward — Web Chatters Upgrade Their Identities for Virtual Life — Jeff Maynard has created an online alter ego, Klepto. — Klepto is slightly trimmer but otherwise looks and dresses like Maynard. He races cars and attends black-tie weddings.

Out and About with OneNote Mobile — As part of our ongoing mission to capture all the information you need to keep, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to let you capture information while you're on the go away from your desk - even without your laptop. As you may know, the current version …

Video Games Are Their Major, So Don't Call Them Slackers — "So you have these four basic types that occupy the environment: the Achiever, the Explorer, the Socializer and the Killer." — Nick Fortugno, the 30-year-old teacher, turned away from the whiteboard and faced the 14 undergraduate …