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Apple is working on its next big thing. What’s not clear is what Apple is developing. Some speculate that Apple is getting into the growing netbook segment based on a tip that Taiwanese manufacturer Wintek is supplying touch panels for the Cupertino-based company. A netbook is a scaled-down version of a laptop. 

Others suggest that Apple is making a super-sized version of its iPod Touch with a bigger screen to watch movies, play videogames, and read e-books on. 

SAGE is open source mathematics software that can be used to studying elementary to advanced number theory, algebra, cryptography, group theory and so much more. It includes interfaces to many other software applications, both commercial and open source, enabling you to use them together. Mathematica, GAP, Octave and MATLAB are just a few of the interfaces that SAGE provides its users.

The use of Python scripting instead of a less common language allows for the writing of programs that can combine mathematics with other elements limited only by the creativity and needs of the user. Therefore, anyone using SAGE should have knowledge of Python to fully appreciate all the functions and abilities of the software. New users who don’t know Python can still use SAGE but will spend a little more time learning all the attributes and tools.

SAGE can be used from a web browser connected to a program on your computer or one running elsewhere and works with Windows, Mac and Linux with Mozilla Firefox as the optimum browser. The SAGE notebook can create mathematical formulae, embedded graphics and more. Visualizing formulas and other calculations is easy with SAGE.

Two very active email lists provide support should you need it. There is documentation and manuals to download and even a manual for newbies. SAGE is both simple to use and versatile, providing an open source product that equals the quality of commercial offerings such as Magma and Mathematica.

Please note that the Windows version is actually a VMWare image.

MindTouch Deki Wiki is the Web’s most popular commercially supported
wiki platform for creating content and mashups using a wiki interface.
The free, open source application is an easy to use program for
authoring, aggregating, organizing, and sharing almost any kind of
content. Enterprises can build online communities and in-house
Intranets, create collaborative applications, or add wiki capabilities
to existing applications. Deki Wiki includes a state-of-the-art WYSIWYG
editor, integration with the LDAP, and open source providers like
WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Mambo. Deki Wiki is also a platform for
building collaborative Web applications that access functionality or
data from anywhere on the Internet. Its flexible architecture even
allows wiki capabilities to be added to existing applications
regardless of the underlying language or technology.

Additionally, Deki Wiki comes with an enterprise strength search
engine; Lucene. Which is used to index all pages and most common file
types. Finding what you’re looking for in pages, files or tags is just
a simple search away.

Also available with Deki Wiki are two powerful desktop tools; the
Desktop connector allows you to upload/download files to/from your wiki
via an intuitive drag-drop, client side application. Plus, the Outlook
Connector provides one-click publishing of emails and email file
attachments to Deki Wiki where they can be versioned, searched,
shared. Both of these tools and dramatically improve your efficiency
by bridging your email inbox and Deki Wiki.

More Importantly, Deki wiki is the only multilingual Polyglot wiki/web
application in the world. Specifically, Deki Wiki supports multiple
languages in a single instance. Languages can be specified by sections
and pages thereby automatically adapting the user interface of Deki
Wiki to the appropriate language. Also, users may search across all
languages and search results are prioritized by the user’s default
language.

MindTouch Deki Wiki, is built with a Web Oriented Architecture (WOA),
it enables users to connect teams, enterprise systems, Web services and
Web 2.0 applications with IT governance. Users easily access and
organize data and systems efficiently to achieve their business
objectives.

This year’s All Things Digital conference featured a fascinating on-stage interview of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz by Kara Swisher. Besides delving into Bartz’s short history at the company, the talk also covered some potential strategic moves. According to AllThingsD’s account, Bartz said Yahoo was "very interested in social."

Of course, this is not the first time Yahoo has talked about big social networking plans. But what makes this different is Bartz’s drive to execute quickly and decisively on reforming the company, and her stated desire to turn Yahoo into users’ "home on the Web." 

An article in the Hollywood trade publication Variety has revealed a new partnership to make Twitter — one of the hottest Internet media phenomenons — the focus of an "unscripted TV skein."

Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment are behind the deal, which Twitter co-founder Biz Stone calls "a lightweight, non-exclusive, agreement." The show is further described in the Variety article as "putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format."

While the concept and executive producers have apparently been worked out, other details are notably lacking — such as what the show will be called, where it will be shown, and when it will air. But pressure will be on to reveal some of these details soon, before the Twitter buzz fades.

Prediction: The producers of the Twitter-based television program will reveal the general start date (i.e., month or season) and channel on which it will be shown by October 1, 2009. The announcement must come from the producers, the cable or broadcast television channel (or Internet site), or Twitter, or be made by a named executive at one of these organizations and quoted by a media outlet. However, the name may not be revealed in the announcement.

Chinese outsourcer Neusoft is pushing to expand in Europe and the U.S. ahead of an upswing in outsourcing the firm expects after the global recession.

Neusoft, one of China's bigger outsourcers, has appointed new top executives in Europe and the U.S. in recent months to help crack those markets, said Walter Fang, the U.S. head for Neusoft since last fall. That will diversify foreign clients for the firm, which drew 80 percent of its overseas revenue from Japanese firms last year, he said.

"Outsourcing will probably surge after the crisis is over," said Fang.

Outsourcing has suffered along with the global economy, but a continued need for cost-cutting at firms will help the industry rebound, Fang said. Rising pressure for firms to quickly develop products that keep up with changing technology will also boost outsourcing demand, he said.

Neusoft's main business is in embedded software outsourcing. It counts Intel and Nokia among its clients, though Chinese customers last year accounted for two-thirds of its revenue of 3.7 billion yuan (US$544 million).

India remains the top offshoring choice for most firms despite saturation in its market and a recent financial scandal at outsourcer Satyam Computer Services. Almost all of Neusoft's U.S. clients have outsourced to India or say they think about doing so, Fang said.

But China is among countries including Vietnam and Mexico that will benefit as customers start to consider destinations besides India, said Frances Karamouzis, a Gartner analyst. China offers a large pool of untapped, cheap labor and better infrastructure than India in telecommunications and transportation.

Offshoring to China is especially attractive for firms like financial service providers that aim to build their businesses in the country, Karamouzis said.

China's outsourcing appeal still suffers from weak enforcement of intellectual property laws. Clients rely on the internal standards of outsourcers rather than China's courts to shield against the loss of trade secrets, said Karamouzis. The outsourcers with such mature standards are usually U.S. or Indian firms with operations in China, she said.

Neusoft has worked to shake free of China's reputation by conforming to industry standards for the protection of intellectual property, Fang said. Neusoft is one of the few firms allowed access to the source code for Symbian, the operating system used by Nokia's smartphones, he said.

Neusoft's work on Symbian occurs in a restricted access room built to meet security needs. The room's computers are blocked from networks in other areas and made without USB ports to guard against the copying of data, Fang said.

Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Mobile Marketplace (or is it Windows Marketplace for Mobile? Microsoft uses both names) is the company's answer to Apple's App Store. But in order to prevent a repeat of the roadblocks hit by aspiring iPhone app moguls, developers should read the PDF listing Microsoft's banned dirty dozen on apps for the marketplace.

Some of the bans, such as apps that link to alternate app stores, are no surprise. But Rule No. 4 bans "applications that enable VoIP (Voice over IP) services over a mobile operator network." That means no Skype for Windows phones.

Rule No. 5 bans "applications that sell, link to, or otherwise promote mobile voice plans." Translation: Wireless carriers that sell Windows phones subsidized by service plans can't promote premium plans in the store.

Advertising is expected to pay for, or at least subsidize, many apps. But Microsoft has set the terms for ad content with Rule No. 6, which bans "applications that display advertising that does not meet the Microsoft Advertising Creative Acceptance Policy Guide." The guide bans audio, Flash, and even Microsoft's Silverlight streaming media format.

Other rules warn developers against uploading user data, including location. But there's one rule that should keep customers happy: All downloads must be kept under 10 megabytes.

The concept of “wiki” comes from the Hawaiian word for “quick” and is a fast way to cross-link information by using WikiWords, a mixed case word entered into an editor. HoneyDoList is one example. Wikidpad makes use of WikiWords in a standalone notepad-type application. All your random pieces of information, all your notes you have hanging in your cubicle, your office or on your fridge can be organized in WikidPad. Managing all the information you have lying around, roaming about in your head or lost in the depths of your computer is a job that WikidPad does flawlessly.

A user new to WikidPad has to learn only a few new ideas in order to use it to its optimum potential. It’s particularly invaluable to creative people who need a way to organize all the different ideas and concepts that occur to them. Having your information right at hand is important and WikidPad will definitely fill the bill. For example, if you entered your notes from the last office meeting into WikidPad and wondered what in the world the boss was talking about when he referenced last week’s meeting, the wiki will have linked his remarks to that past meeting. It will take just a couple of seconds to refresh your memory and make you look capable and efficient!

WikidPad is particularly popular with writers and other people who have many compartmentalized information banks that are linked to each other and yet also need to stand alone. Best of all, WikidPad gives you what you need when you want it, in a very uncomplicated design.

If you want a basic desktop organizer that does everything you need without throwing a million options at you, you’ll love WikidPad.

Amazon’s new large-screen Kindle e-reader, the Kindle DX, has a problem: At nearly $500, it’s an expensive platform for reading magazines, newspapers, and textbooks.

Concerns about price have been addressed by several early newspaper and educational partners. Some newspaper readers will be able to get a discounted price for the Kindle DX when it goes on sale this summer, but only through long-term subscription programs that are described as "pilots" in the Amazon announcement. Another "trial" is being set up at a handful of American universities to put Kindle DXs in the hands of students, but officials from Pace and Case Western who were quoted in the New York Times said only 40 or 50 students would get the devices, and they wouldn’t have to pay anything for them (the schools and Amazon would cover the costs, according to the article).

That leaves the question how many members of the public at large will be willing to pay $489 out of pocket for the Kindle DX. The smaller Kindle is a hit (currently listed as the number 1 bestselling item in Amazon electronics), but at a list price of $359 it’s much cheaper than the DX. According to one informal survey, the Kindle appeals to older customers, who likely have more disposable income than the average college student.

Pricing is a tricky business for gadget manufacturers. Even in good times, manufacturers sometimes discover they have priced an item too expensive. Apple found this out the hard way when it set the initial version of the iPhone at $599, and then abruptly cut the price by 1/3 in September 2007, just a few months after launch. In a sustained recession, consumers will be even more sensitive to price.

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