Although terrorists seem to take advantage of IT's latest advances, government and consumers have yet to do so.

NewsTeam | AO [AlwaysOn] | 12.16.04 @00:22

Because Humans Are Chaotic, Our Systems Are Chaotic  Solving the logistical problems of semantic integration and interoperability. NewsTeam | AO [AlwaysOn] | 12.16.04 @05:37

Christmas countdown, 12, 11, 10 ...

The Chairman of the FCC explains why the Skypes of the world will not be destroyed by the big MSOs.

This week I will attend the White House Economic Summit where we will discuss the the President's Ownership Society agenda. Ironically, down the street, the FCC will meet Wednesday to discuss a draft of their long-awaited FCC Tri-Ennial Review (TRO) order that has been circulating in WDC this week. Language in the draft could be a real setback for property rights in the sector. We need clear ownership rules to generate the capital spending we need to compete in the global markets.

At the beginning of 2004, just about everything that could go right, was. Then came skyrocketing oil prices, Fed rate hikes, a “soft patch,” a slowdown in China, and a further weakening in the dollar. In the end however, equities are up, driven by perhaps the largest surprise of the year – earnings growing by 22%, or 8% better than had been forecast at the beginning of the year, and despite all that actually did go wrong. Next year’s equity market is now poised to benefit from what went wrong this year, while market valuation is even more attractive today than at the beginning of 2004.

A U.S. venture-backed company is still more likely to achieve an exit through a strategic trade sale, rather than an IPO -- probably 90 percent of the time. The current market environment requires VCs and entrepreneurs to not just consider M&A; as a viable path to liquidity, but plan for it.

Biodiesel is one of the possible candidates to replace fossil fuels as the world's primary transportation energy source. And the good news is that its’ “Renewable”!

From the cutting room floor, as it were, AO's got an excerpt so exclusive that it didn't even make it into Andy Kessler's latest book, Running Money. Here's the first of two parts about the paper shuffle that transformed the airline business and Wall Street itself.

One exclusive book excerpt, two market forecasts, three Michaels (Moe, Powell, Stroud), and Four Secrets (with key hidden below). Anyone see five golden rings laying around?

Networking requirements are shifting from capacity to complexity because of complex Web applications.

EMC has been expanding its offerings, both through acquisition and new development, and pushing to solidify its place in information management. But with heavyweights like Cisco moving in the same direction, does the storage company feel worried?

As the semantic web moves toward interoperability and integration, what issues do developers face? And why aren't standards good enough?

A dud at the box office, the fall film is nevertheless one of the most important films of 2004. It heralds a new generation of young filmmakers armed with DV cameras, Macs, and blue screens.

We want inter-handset compatibility. You can give us multiplayer mobile nirvana.

Location considerations for the enterprising expat. (Part Two of Two.)

Pip muses on signal to noise, Ambient Devices, Rubik's Cubes, and the investment psychology that doesn't take fundamentals into consideration during the annual fourth-quarter fear.

Social networking sites are just like hot new restaurants: They're the place to be seen until the next in-vogue destination comes along.

Current FCC regulations are stifling new technologies, according to Chairman Michael Powell. Read on to see what he wants to do about that.