Bill Gates expects Microsoft Windows version 7 in 2009

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Friday the world's biggest software maker might introduce the next update to its Windows operating system in 2009.

"The next version is supposed to be Windows 7," Gates said at the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami. "That will be sometime in the next year or so that we'll have a new version."

The product, code-named Windows 7, is still in the planning stages, said spokeswoman Liz Martin.

Windows Vista, Microsoft's current operating system, took five years to produce.

The software debuted in late 2006 after more than two years of delays.

G or not G?

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is marketing via search engines, done through organic search engine optimization, paid search engine advertising, and paid inclusion programs.

Paid Inclusion

As mentioned earlier, many general web directories charge a one time flat fee or annually recurring rate for listing commercial sites. Many shopping search engines charge a flat cost per click rate to be included in their databases.

As far as major search engines go, Inktomi popularized the paid inclusion model. They were bought out by Yahoo in December of 2003. After Yahoo dropped Google and rolled out their own search technology they continued to offer a paid inclusion program to list sites in their regular search results. Yahoo Search Submit is the only organic search paid inclusion program remaining from the major search providers. Search Submit is sold both on a yearly flat rate basis, and on a category based per click basis.

Pay Per Click

Pay per click ads allow search engines to sell targeted traffic to advertisers on a cost per click basis. Typically pay per click ads are keyword targeted, but in some cases, some engines may also add in local targeting, behavioral targeting, or allow merchants to bid on traffic streams based on demographics as well.

Pay per click ads are typically sold in an auction where the highest bidder ranks #1 for that keyword. Some engines, like Google and Microsoft, also factor ad clickthrough rate into the click cost. Doing so ensures their ads get clicked on more frequently, and that their advertisements are more relevant. A merchant who writes compelling ad copy and gets a high CTR will be allowed to pay less per click to receive traffic.

Search Engines vs Directories

All major search engines have some limited editorial review process, but the bulk of relevancy at major search engines is driven by automated search algorithms which harness the power of the link graph on the web. In fact, some algorithms, such as TrustRank, bias the web graph toward trusted seed sites without requiring a search engine to take on much of an editorial review staff. Thus, some of the more elegant search engines allow those who link to other sites to in essence vote with their links as the editorial reviewers.

Unlike highly automated search engines, directories are manually compiled taxonomies of websites. Directories are far more cost and time intensive to maintain due to their lack of scalability and the necessary human input to create each listing and periodically check the quality of the listed websites.

General directories are largely giving way to expert vertical directories, temporal news sites (like blogs), and social bookmarking sites (like del.ici.ous). In addition, each of those three publishing formats I just mentioned also aid in improving the relevancy of major search engines, which further cuts at the need for (and profitability of) general directories.

How Phone-line Networking Works

Phone-line networking is one of several ways to connect the computers in your home. If your computers are in different rooms, then phone-line networking could be a good solution for you.
Phone-line networking is easy to install, inexpensive and fast, and it doesn't require any additional wiring.

Phone-line networking, most commonly referred to as HomePNA, is based on the specifications developed by the Home Phone Networking Alliance (HPNA). The HPNA is a consortium of key

networking technology companies that created a phone-line standard for the networking industry. HPNA 1.0, the original version of the standard, operated at a rather slow 1 megabit per second (Mbps). The current specification, HPNA 3.0, is based on technology developed by Broadcom and Copper Solutions. It operates at 128 Mbps.

HomePNA has several distinct advantages:

• It's easy to install.

• It's inexpensive.

• It's standardized.

• It's reliable.

• It operates at a constant 128 Mbps, even when the phone is in use.

• It requires no additional networking equipment (such as hubs or routers).

• It supports up to 50 devices.

• It is fast enough for bandwidth-intensive applications, such as video.

• It is compatible with other networking technologies.

• It works on Macs and older PCs (in addition to Windows and Linux systems).

HomePNA does have some drawbacks, though. You need a phone jack close to each computer. Otherwise, you will have to run phone extension cords or install new wiring. There is a physical limit of 1,000 feet (304.8 m) of wiring between devices, and the overall area of coverage should not exceed 10,000 square feet (929 m²). Rarely (in fewer than 1 percent of U.S. homes), HomePNA will not work on the existing wiring. And while this author did not notice any interference with voice use, there have been reports of voices sounding "funny" or of a lot of noise on the phone once HomePNA is installed.

G or not G?

How WiFi Works

If you've been in an airport, coffee shop, library or hotel recently, chances are you've been right in the middle of a wireless network. Many people also use wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking, to connect their computers at home, and an increasing number of cities use the technology to provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents. In the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires.

One wireless router can allow multiple devices to connect to the Internet.

WiFi has a lot of advantages. Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive. They're also unobtrusive -- unless you're on the lookout for a place to use your laptop, you may not even notice when you're in a hotspot. In this article, we'll look at the technology that allows information to travel over the air. We'll also review what it takes to create a wireless network in your home.

G or no G?