Focus On: Browsers

By digging on the vastly improved US Census Bureau site, I found that there really isn't much poverty in my small midwestern city. Can local geeks use this knowledge to close the portion of the digital divide that's due to income? My plan's designed to satisfy Conservatives, Moderates, Liberals and Greens. If it doesn't please you, let's hear yours.

Looking for a fast, lightweight web-based form builder? Email Battles built a typical sign-up form on Wufoo, a friendly startup based out of Tampa. With the exception of a stubborn radio button that won't go away, we found the site lives up to its promise.

Reporting organizations claim that China has incarcerated more reporters than any other nation on earth. And they imply that Asia's giant couldn't get away with it, without eager Americans at their side, providing both assistance and moral cover. The Americans? Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. Email Battles brings you up-to-date on number of Chinese citizens currently under lock-and-key for expressing opinions.

A blogger's claim that one rogue operator tricked Google into indexing over 5 billion bogus pages serving Pay-Per-Click ads has helped solidify the claims of the legal teams chasing the search giants: PPC advertisers may, in fact, be getting screwed through faked clickery. At the same time, it helps explain the increasing irrelevance of search results. This, for many, is a deal killer. Searchers and advertisers alike need a better model. But who can deliver it?

Microsoft's corporate vice president of Windows Live and MSN marketing, Martin Taylor, occupied the chair for just three months before he was unceremoniously "disappeared." This is bad news for Windows Live competitors, who have been thoroughly enjoying pratfalls similar to those made by Taylor in his previous assignment: Microsoft's silly anti-Linux crusade, "Get the Facts."