ZDNet: Enterprise mashups get ready for prime-time
The technique of using the browser itself as the location for rapid, on-the-fly integration of functionality (widgets) and services showed how easy integration could be done on at the point of consumption with simple Web technologies like XML, Ajax, and Javascript snippets. From an enterprise perspective, it gave a lot of people pause to see how easy it could be done (Paul Rademacher's HousingMaps.com being the original example), compared to the methods used by formal and costly enterprise application integration and service-oriented architecture projects.

You totally have to listen to this - it's a mashup of Crystal Method's "Vapor Trail" and the Oracle database...

Daily Tech: Apple to Charge for Users for What They Already Purchased
Despite the positive news at MacWorld however, Apple late this week revealed that 802.11n features in the MacBook and MacBook Pro units are locked and the only way to unlock the new speed is to pay Apple a fee. Apple wants users to pay $2 USD for a small system update that unlocks 802.11n features. Those who decide to purchase the new 802.11n Airport Extreme however, will receive the necessary update free of charge.

This is not Apple's only foray into charging people to enable hardware features - third generation iPods had amazing recording abilities but they were disabled by default, and could only be activated by purchasing an expensive third-party add-on.

Houston Chronicle: Intel will partner with Sun Microsystems on server chips, source says
The deal marks a major design win for Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, which has been fighting to reverse plunging profits and regain market share lost to archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. It's also a sizable victory for Sun as the company continues its long climb back to profitability following the dot-com collapse and seeks more mainstream adoption of its servers and software products.

Does this mean we'll be able to boot into Windows on the payroll mainframe? I always wondered if I could get a higher frag count in Quake if I was connected directly to an OC3...