Sometimes I get a chance to say “wow”, when I look at my life. Today was one such day. Today, Ted Nelson, my former boss back at Creative Computing Magazine (we’re talking 1979 here), released Xanadu to the world as open source. The whole Xanadu project changed my life. I didn’t know computers could be so cool until the Xanadu guys, back in 1979, showed me the cool. They never really went anywhere with it, but they inspired everyone with it, and its ideas are at the heart of much of our world today. Interestingly, another of my old bosses, Dave Winer, attended the session where Ted opened Xanadu. He’s another special guy who’s subtly influenced much of the word of computing. So today, you get to read one of my old bosses (Dave) talking about another (Ted). If you wonder sometimes where some of the heart and soul of ZATZ comes from, it’s because I had good teachers.

Internet Week has this amusing article about ghosts, gobblins, and injunctions against Olivetti.

Check out this story from Wired News on a cell phone that can play MP3 files. Samsung Electronics unveiled the cell phone that can hold 16 MB, or about 15 minutes worth of music.

Security Dynamics Technologies introduced a rapid token assignment and distribution service. The SecurID Express service is designed to helpadministrators with individually assigning and delivering tokens while reducing the time and cost of securely getting tokens to users. SecurID authenticators can be used in various forms, including hardware tokens, software tokens, smart cards, and a version that runs on the Palm Computing Platform.

InfoWorld has this article which says that Lotus plans to extend its Mobile Services for Domino (MSD) 2.0 to handhelds running Epoc 32, Windows CE and the Palm operating system. MSD 2.0 is scheduled to be released early next year.

ReleaseNow.com announced an agreementwith ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies. Under terms of the agreement, ReleaseNow.com will build an online store that enables customers to purchase ART’s line of voice and handwriting recognition software products for Microsoft Windows CE-based Handheld PCs, Palm-size PCs and desktop PCs over the Internet. The online store will enable customers to order products online, and to download software directly to their desktops in real-time.

Keyspan announced today that its USB PDA Adapter is now available for Windows 98. This adapter provides a way to connect Palm organizers, Windows CE PDAs and Sharp Wizards to a Win98 PC. The adapter has a suggested retail price of just $39 and is now shipping.

AnyDay.com announced the ability to synchronize information from personal information managers (PIMs) and personal digital assistants (PDA) with its online DayPlanner service. The service will support the integration of personal data from personal organizers, including Lotus Notes, Lotus Organizer, Microsoft Outlook, the Palm Computing family of handheld organizers, and Windows CE devices.

Foundation Systems announced the release of WriteHere Suite 1.0 for Mac OS, Palm OS, and Newton OS. Users can connect their handheld to the computer’s serial port and launch the WriteHere Server software to get handwriting recognition in their applications.

Keyspan announced today that its USB PDA Adapter is now available for Windows 98. This adapter provides a way to connect Palm organizers, Windows CE PDAs and Sharp Wizards to a Win98 PC. The adapter has a suggested retail price of just $39 and is now shipping.