Sure, Microsoft wants to turn the Internet into Net. But there are other proposals to turn the Internet into the world's largest middleware layer.

The goal of Piper is to develop ways to turn 'Net services and applications into objects, which could then be connected into even more powerful applications through something as simple as drawing lines between them on a client-side GUI.

Only the graphical representation of an object resides on a local workstation. Compute-intensive programs and large data sets can reside remotely on high-performance, high-capacity computers.

Joining nodes across the Internet can also be used to form world-wide collaboratives ... and provide an almost limitless collection of objects for the user.

They've already got some software and documentation for you to download and play with.

But does it get soggy in milk?

The Crunch Browser is a version of Internet Explorer 5 with a Cap'n Crunch theme (Windows 95, 98 and NT only).

It's cooler in theory than in practice. When you install it, you get a yellowish toolbar with outlines of little cap'n's hats, and your default home page changes to www.capncrunch.com. And that's it (first spotted by Mr. Barrett).

Ranking the domain registrars

It was inevitable. There are so many domain registrars out there now, somebody was bound to get the idea to do a site to rank them.

DomainNameBuyersGuide.com ranks the registrars by price and by the terms of their registration agreements (there's also an overall ranking that combines the two). Registrars with potential problems get a big flashing Consumer Alert. The site also has an FAQ on selecting a registrar (thanks to Weblogging Considered Harmful for spotting this one).

Bzzzt!

Wolf-Garten, a German garden-equipment maker, has developed a riding mower that comes with wireless Internet access. It also uses a laser beam to cut the grass instead of a blade. Progress marches on. You can see pictures of the beast and read more about it here.

Things you would never try, not you

Face it -- you're busy and serious and sober-minded, so you'd never in a million years try any of the Cube Dweller Survival Projects, such as painting with correction fluid, making a gun out of a spring-loaded pen or creating a cubicle farm. Nope. Nor would you read the rest of The Cubicle Dweller's Survival Guide To PC's, Paperclips and Other Office Distractions.

Digital Divas win

A few months ago, Microsoft set up a Digital Diva site to dispense computer help to the sort of person who can't function properly without some animatron telling him or her what to do. Only problem was there was already a Digital Divas site -- run by IT and Internet types of thee female persuasion. They didn't take kindly to the, um, imposter. Microsoft recently backed down, though, agreeing to stop using the Digital Diva moniker. Read more from the winners.

Chatterbox

In Europe, short text messages sent over cell phones are really popular. A Scandanavian chauffeur recently checked himself into an addiction clinic

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