Bloghits #1

I've come to terms with the issue of collecting more stories than I can reasonably write about -- make it a recurring (but occasional) feature like "Coursing Through The Wires."  Thus, the first formal installment of "Bloghits," after numerous earlier struggles with the concept:

• Engadget offered an excellent three part primer on the world of HDTV and its offshoots... while destined to be out of date within weeks, it's a fine way for the partial luddites like me to make sense of the madness while still resisting the Tivo-lution and "third screen" mania. 
• Engadget and Gizmodo both point to ShinyShiny's excitement about the impending arrival of Nabaztag in the english-speaking portions of the world. I know it's insanely stupid but I'm also intrigued by the device -- especially if it works as a WiFi repeater/access point in addition to its programmable light and kinetic sculpture (and now audio!) mania. 
• "Google Blogoscoped," a critical look at Google, offered a couple interesting sidelights before getting bogged down into the "Google in China" debate -- a way to hack Minesweeper (much to the delight of cubefarm critters everywhere) and the "Google Prejudice Map" that indicates that many parts of the world are believed to be characterized by their alcohol intake (a good reason to consult the Malt & Barley Chronicles, right?).  N.B. You'll have to pass a little quiz on the landing page before getting to the map itself...
• We're getting closer to true wireless integration -- the Register reviews Bluetooth stereo headsets that both play music and take phonecalls.  I'd love to have this kind of device for my commute -- I keep damaging the headphone jack on my Treo 650 when I catch my headphone cords on something. But I'm thinking that a swing-boom microphone that locks to a slim-fit headband would work just fine. I can handle fragility issues better than looking like an extra on the deck of the Death Star.
• And hearkening back to the recent bent of my commentary, BoingBoing offers an excerpt from Teresa Hayden's post/essay on copyright and books.  Hayden basically argues for more concrete limits on the duration of copyright and a loosening of the treatment once works go out of print, e.g. permitting some forms of electronic distribution for deadtree works that have been abandoned by publishers. I think she's on the right path, though there's lots of ground to cover in future discussions...