My wife and I had run out for errands and had stopped at a D’Angelo sub shop. We were just about to get out of the car when the phone rang. My wife rolled her eyes but I took the call because, well, because that’s what I do. Somebody has a problem, I try to answer the phone.

Back in December 05, I had to prepare for a presentation on “websites and technology” to a room full of campaign folks. There wasn’t a lot of direction on what they wanted me to cover.

The long awaited (and waited, and waited) Microsoft operating system, Vista, will include heightened parental controls that allow parents to grant permission before unauthorized users try to view websites not on a pre-approved list.

Google may be tired of Webmasters taking advantage of its sensitive algorithms through link abuse and repeated keyword digs. With no one else to turn to, the engine that launched a million splogs, might turn its back on Webmasters, trusting visitors and Web directories with less scarlet reputations instead.

What are the alternatives to DRM with a viable business model for content producers in an increasingly decentralized market?

LiveSide reports that Windows Live Product Search is in development. Much like Froogle, WLPS would have price comparisons, and add Windows Live staples like detail sliders to hide/show metadata.

Engadget got a tip that Dell plans to release its 18-pound, 20-inch widescreen laptop that it showed off as a concept PC at CES, possibly as early as next month.

Hits series from ABC Television and the Disney Channel will be available online the day after broadcast.

eWeek reports that BlogBurst will launch on Tuesday and syndicate more than 600 bloggers to traditional newspaper publishers.

I know Google’s integration of Google Base, with its regular search results, hit most people’s news reader last week, but the company had been quietly integrating Google Base for a couple of weeks now.

I’m guessing that, were Nostradamus to write a book called Predicting for Idiots, one of his first guidelines to a budding prophet would be “keep it vague, young apprentice.”

Poor Planning Costs Owner Managers a Comfortable Retirement.

A student from Israel developed an advanced search algorithm, and his work landed him a job with Google and a windfall for the University of New South Wales.

Art imitating life, Web imitating print, and now it’s print imitating Web. Since December, says the Associated Press, Verizon has been testing an auction model in its printed Boston Yellow Pages.

Engadget links to a PDF with the full specs and accessories for the Samsung UMPC.

The big announcement today was … ABC is unveiling the new ABC.com to showcase the new theatre that will allow viewers to see certain ABC shows immediately the next day. That, in a way, is cool.

I’m at BSEC in Phoenix for the second year in a row. A conference where content as property is a comfortable notion, but where attendees are embracing disruption.

Guy Kawasaki* cranks out a top-10 list on “The Art Of Customer Service.” My favorite of the lot:

An interesting NYT article on how Google (and others) are forcing newspapers to change their approach to writing news headlines.

Upward movement with new beta versions of a couple of offline blog editors I’m trying out:

Jason Calacanis chastises the WSJ for not directly linking to bloggers. He wants the WSJ to give blogs the credit of a direct link rather than hiding behind Javascript code. That’s touching.

Not sure about what’s up south of the 49th, however, up here in Canada during TV coverage of the Masters, a TV ad just appeared telling people to logon to Remax.ca next month to search for real estate listings using Google Earth… pretty interesting…

Just returned from a whil-wind couple of days in Vegas to take in CTIA Wireless and the Navteq Challenge.

Headline findings from the 2005/2006 Communication ROI Study from employee benefits and HR consulting firm WatsonWyatt: