Real Networks’ new product will allow users to rip a DVD to their home PC or Laptop legally by protecting the files. Will this prevent people from sharing movies on P2P file-sharing sites?

It looks like in the coming months Joost will start bringing its content to the web, without requiring users to download their desktop software. The internet TV company previously required users to download a piece of software to use it’s service, now users will just have to download a browser plug-in, making it slightly simpler for them to access Joost and its content.

Google has again broken the mold with its filing of patents for what it calls “water-based data centers.”  As the name implies, Google is looking to build data centers that use ocean water for power and cooling.  In addition, the same patent confirms Google’s development of a “container-based data center,” describing “crane-removable modules” to power the computing platforms.

Flash is a ubiquitous technology on today’s web, so when a company announces its use it shouldn’t necessary be news-worthy.  In the case of NBC choosing flash as the primary technology for streaming Sunday Night Football, it’s noteworthy given the recent shift by NBC to use Microsoft’s Silverlight technology for the Summer Olympics- which indicated a possible shift.  The recent announcement proves otherwise. 

Even the intelligence agencies are realising the power of social networking. A-Space is a new spy-only social network combining the best bits of MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. And it could be the key to stopping another 9/11-style terrorist attack.

Google has pretty much done everything it could to conquer Earth. We’ve all heard of Google, we all use Google, and we all bow down to the greatness that is Google. So the search specialist company, which seems to be broadening its horizons greatly of late, is moving onwards and upwards - quite literally.

Google’s Chrome browser has barely been out a week and already it’s beaten No.4 browser Opera in usage numbers. Despite excellent critical reception, what’s stopping Opera from being more of a contender in the browser stakes?

It’s something that any major company has to deal with: their brand blasted by disgruntled customers yourcompanysucks.com web sites. Wal Mart and Dell have dozens of sites criticizing aspects of their business. But registering a domain name and leaving it blank likely means missing out on a huge opportunity.

The price of petrol has gone through the roof over the past couple of years, with increasing oil prices filtering through and hitting consumers at garage forecourts around the world. So when someone started giving away free petrol at a garage in London, hundreds of people queued up to get their tanks filled up without charge.

Tatango, a group SMS service is now available to be used by the general public. The service allows users to send ad-supported text messages to large groups of people simultaneously promoting their store, organization, or other group.

Looking more like a whirly gig than a wind turbine, the Energy Ball is a new Swedish wind turbine specifically designed to be quiet and efficient.  Home Energy, the company that created the Energy Ball, primarily designs green energy systems for the home.

Giving biofuel a whole new meaning, one dance club is taking alternative energy and green practices seriously. They have instituted a new method of generating power for their dance club - using the patrons own sweaty gyrations as a source of electricity.

10 years ago today, two Stanford University students called Larry Page and Sergey Brin applied for incorporation of a company with the odd-sounding name of Google. The application was accepted two days later, on September 7th, 1998. Since then, the pair have become billionaires, and the name Google is one almost everyone in the world will have heard of.

Science is comparing human  and computer puzzle solving skills in an online puzzle game called Foldit.  Different puzzles consisting of different strings of proteins and amino acids are available for players to solve.  As you fold and manipulate the protein/amino acid, you get points. 

Microsoft’s first commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld has him shoe shopping with Bill Gates has him querying the company’s Founder as to whether their computers will become, “moist and chewy like cake.” Bill Gates signaled in the affirmative by adjusting his shorts in quite possibly the most awkward screenplay of all time.

The ‘One Laptop Per Child’ scheme has had a major boost with Amazon signing up as a distributor. Customers will be able to buy the low-tech, low-price laptop for themselves with a second machine then sent free of charge to a child in the developing world.

Google was touting it’s cloud computing initiatives today at the Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco, pointing out all of its recent product introductions large steps forward in taking software to the clouds.  The areas of productivity and collaboration for small businesses were in the spotlight as Google explained how it’s taken the burden of maintaining such software away almost completely.