Having worked too late into the night and woken up too early, I am in no mood to write today and actually will be spending my time talking to people in the hope of finding one or two great nuggets worth reading for our readers.

But before I get there, big news on my end is that I am returning for a repeat appearance at the TechCrunch 50 conference – apparently my candor didn’t work against me for once. Regardless, Mike & Jason are putting together an awesome show and glad to be a part of it. Other smart people are going to be judging companies as well, as you can tell from this list. Moving on to stuff I found really interesting this morning:

• NewTeeVee’s Chris Albrecht has put together a giant list of all Internet set-top boxes that would let you play movies and other videos when connected to your TV. Wow…. didn’t realize there were that many. And these don’t include boxes from the likes of Linksys, Buffalo, and NetGear. Check it out, and tell me if you agree with me that most of them are going to be gone with the wind.



• Ha ha ha…. now that was fast. Sprint is going to sell Samsung Instinct for $129, a price cut compared to iPhone. Don’t tell me they are not shit scared of iPhone and are starting off by a price cut. By the way, guys next time you want our attention, send the damn product not press releases.
• Bob Metcalfe finds the interim CEO gig too hard. He is leaving GreenFuel to go back to investing. Hey Bob, how about some infrastructure deals now?
• Nitin Borwankar, who is moderating the future of databases panel at our Structure’08 conference has come up with a new Web 2.0 term: The Pied Piper Effect and how it can completely stress out the social networks. Worth Reading.
• Django, the Python-framework has its own foundation. More details on OStatic.
• Dave Winer’s thoughtful and more reasonable take on the AP-vs-Bloggers’ drama.
• Microsoft has bought Navic Networks, a company that has technology for targeted advertising on television systems. My guess this is all about their Mediaroom product and is at the command of their telecom customers.
• WiMAX has gone mobile in Netherlands, thanks to Worldmax, a company backed by Intel and Greefield Capital. For $31 a month you get unlimited wireless broadband that uses 3.5 GHz spectrum and gear from Alcatel-Lucent.
• The world of telecom is now all about various overseas companies investing globally. Tata Communications of India is investing in China Enterprise Communications (CEC) of China. Russian Billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov and his company Sistema are raising their stake in North Indian telecom operator Shyam Telecom.