Here are some interesting links from today:

• Windows 7 Build 7000 First Look
  The last few days have been spent tinkering with the latest build of Windows 7. With a build number of 7000, this is meant to be the public release version that is due to be given out early January 2009 as Beta 1. This gives a good indication of the progress that Microsoft is making with the development of their next-gen operating system.
• Uproar in Australia Over Plan to Block Web Sites
  A proposed Internet filter dubbed the ”Great Aussie Firewall” is promising to make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries.Consumers, civil-rights activists, engineers, Internet providers and politicians from opposition parties are among the critics of a mandatory Internet filter that would block at least 1,300 Web sites prohibited by the government — mostly child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism.

• Google phone to cost $179, debut Oct. 22
  The first phone that harnesses Google Inc.’s ambition to make the Internet easy to use on the go was revealed Tuesday, and it looks a lot like an iPhone. T-Mobile USA showed off the G1, a phone that, like Apple Inc.’s iPhone, has a large touch screen. But it also packs a trackball, a slide-out keyboard and easy access to Google’s e-mail and mapping programs.
• On the Palin e-mail hacker trail
  Keeping you up to date on the privacy invasion that the privacy absolutists don’t want to talk about, here’s the latest on the Sarah Palin e-mail hacker case – A grand jury in Chattanooga could hear testimony this week into the break-in:
• Verizon Offers Contract-Free Wireless Service
  Have a fear of commitment but want to reap the benefits of the Verizon Network anyway? Take comfort, Verizon announced today that beginning immediately wireless customers can sign up for month-to-month service, without a contract.  The new Month-to-Month agreement will allow consumers to purchase new handsets at full-retail price (or use their own CDMA devices) without the commitment of a one- or two-year contract. Additionally they can terminate their agreement at the end of any month without paying an Early Termination Fee.

• How I became a soldier in the Georgia-Russia cyberwar.
  After making sure that I wasn’t downloading a virus, I installed DoSHTTP and started playing around with it. Along with offering customizable options to advanced users, there was also a nice option for beginners like me. After entering a URL, I could initiate an attack by clicking something that said “Start Flood.” A flood did follow—war at the touch of a button.
• Dropped calls plague iPhone 3G, and not just in U.S.
  If you’re having problems with dropped calls on your new 3G Apple iPhone, you’re not alone.
  From New York to Stockholm, 3G iPhone owners are complaining loudly about connection failures – sometimes repeatedly – during calls. The problem typically occurs when the device attempts to move from 3G to another network.

Despite being able to defeat The Joker, time and time again… Batman, like the rest of us, can’t win at the pumps.   You know it’s bad when Bruce Wayne can’t even afford to fill up his gas guzzler.

However, I hope he didn’t make a rash decision and did the proper calculations to determine if downsizing really makes sense in his case.  You can find out if trading in your gas guzzler is a smart move by using this calculator.

His new SMART Coupe doesn’t appear to carry nearly the same firepower as the Batmobile either.  Hope that doesn’t come back to bite him later.

For more Bataman humor check out this funny Dark Knight by kids trailor.

Photo Source: Rebecca via email (original source unknown)

Both parties should be afraid because now there’s a true conservative in the race.

Here’s the latest news report detailing how it came to be.