I just downloaded the publicly available beta of Google Talk. They are using your gMail credentials which makes a lot of sense, and made it even easier to get up and running. They are also promising Skype type functionality, but it is not in the beta, which could be pretty cool also.

The really interesting thing from my point of view is that they are embracing XMPP from the beginning, which opens huge possibilites for developers wanting to do something interesting with their service. I guess this should be no suprise by now based on their track record with Search API's and Google Maps API's which in a relatively short period of time have led to some really interesting applications like the Pedometer.

The first day of MIT Technology Review's Emerging Technology Conference - and already the morning panel is feeling it. On stage is Uma Chowdry, Paul Horn, and Bob Tepper - and they are delivering gems. Paul Horn opens...

Paul Horn
How does IBM view R&D in the current climate of super-agile markets?
IBM spends 5.5bil per year on R&D. If information technology has become a mass commodity then why is that? We invest because the returns are promising for investors, for IBM, and for our customers. We invest because that is the single-most successful approach to innovation. Lou Gerster once said, "Innovate - or you are in commodity hell."

Tim Berners-Lee, Director, W3C opened TECHNOLOGY REVIEW'S Emerging Technology Conference keynote speech interview, hosted by Bob Metcalfe. Tim discussed the emergence of the Web, his motivations at the time, and some insider history (Andreesen did not have blessing to do Mosaic).

[image will go here - Bluetooth link is dead]

It was no surprise to hear that Tim used NeXT Step to develop the web - NeXT was clearly at the core of that era's innovation as a common platform in R&D labs. What was interesting - for me to learn - was that he prefers this era's innovative platform: Apple OS X. In fact his browser of choice is Amaya.

I was invited to join the press at TECHNOLOGY REVIEW's Emerging Technologies Conference. This dovetails nicely the open threads here; I intend to blog my experience while answering the open question of: "If pervasive computing services is the way - how do we get there?"

Day One looks promising:

Day One also features Breakout Sessions on “Nanotech and Energy,” “Next Generation Search,” “The Era of Synthetic Biology” and “The Technology Jobs Drain.” Discussions taking place during Day Two of the conference focus on “Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World: The Innovator View.” Speakers will include Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple Computer and CEO, Wheels of Zeus (wOz); J. Craig Venter, Ph.D, President, The Center for the Advancement of Genomics, and executives from deCODE genetics, Inc. and Intellectual Ventures. Day Two continues with Breakout Sessions on “WhereWare—the Revolution in Location Aware Computing,” “Fusion Biometrics,” “What Drives Invention?” and “Robots of Augmentation.”