Microsoft's Open XML format overcame its final stumbling block and is moving forward as an official ISO standard. The file format had been held back earlier this year by claims that the voting process was rushed and that Microsoft's specification information was incomplete. Open XML got the green light to move forward after appeals from Brazil, India, South Africa and Venezuela failed to gain enough support from the other national standards bodies. Microsoft's file format will now also be known as ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Information technology -- Office Open XML formats.

Online video is currently the buzz topic dominating news cycles -- technology, content, search, distribution, syndication, aggregation, advertising, widgets ... OK, I think you get it. The migration of content delivery has done just that: migrated. Consumption of online video has shifted from cable TV, to satellite and digital video recorder, and now to the Internet. Because of this, individuals are taking the term "on-demand" much more seriously. People have less time and don't want to be limited in what they are able to view.

Wikis are sprouting up everywhere, so it's not surprising that the world of investing, finance, business and money management is getting in on the act. If you're looking for stock tips, industry analysis, information about how to start a home business, or advice about paying off credit card debt, you might turn to one of these money-related wikis to benefit from the wisdom of the digital crowd. One of these sites, Wikinvest, was founded in 2006 and launched in 2007 as a one-stop shop for all things related to stocks, bonds and other investments.

Warning: Your personal data may be at risk. As RFID devices work their way into consumers' everyday lives, the potential for data breaches grows rapidly. RFID technology used to be used primarily to track warehouse operations and perform inventory control through. Now, this same technology is finding its way into smart keys -- keys that merely need to come close to a lock in order to unlock it. RFID transponders now speed travelers through toll booths and gas stations without requiring users to whip out credit cards or old-fashioned cash.

With the iPhone 3G's lackluster battery performance, a car charger is no longer an optional accessory -- it's a requirement. There are two basic types. There are those that go into the lighter socket and are composed of basically a wire with a plug on either end. Then there's the Kensington Car Charger Deluxe for iPhone and iPod. The Kensington charger is both a battery charger and a dock that cradles your iPhone or iPod, holding it in position in your vehicle for easy access.

These were great games, and I particularly got a kick out of the initial U.S. swimming team win, which came in the face of the French team, who said they would "smash" us. I couldn't help but draw a parallel from that to the Apple reaction I got from suggesting that Dell might be able to address a market need that Apple didn't on a project that I'd helped with. But we've talked enough about that, and this week let's look at some of the technologies that have helped make this Olympics unique from vendors like Cisco, AMD, Microsoft and Lenovo.

Case-mate Clear Armor for iPhone is yet another product in the increasingly crowded clear-film-covering-for-your-iPhone category. I've reviewed two similar products in the past year -- InvisibleSHIELD and BodyGuardz -- and know of several others that appear to be pretty much the same. All three products offer pretty much the same pitch -- their product is fabricated from high-grade protective film originally designed to protect Apache helicopter blades from sand damage in Desert Storm and/or to protect the fronts of cars from stones and other abrasive elements.

The new Consumer Reports serves up what it labels, in big letters on the magazine's cover, the "7 biggest online blunders." They're mostly about compromising the security of your identity, things that can lead to your bank account being emptied, your credit card being enjoyed "offsite," your computer being debilitated. The list itself wasn't online at consumerreports.org, but it boils down to notions that are common sense and ought to be second nature by now: Employ and update security software, don't use the same password for all accounts, etc.

Online media coverage of this year's Summer Olympic Games on MSN is shaping up to be a breakout event for Internet TV, as well as quite a big hit for NBC and its tech partners. The network reported 12 million hits and 70 million page views on its Olympics Web site -- and that was before the opening ceremony. Things got even better from there: 62.7 million page views were recorded on the auspicious Chinese date 08-08-08, the Games' opening day. NBC on Tuesday reported 132.6 million page views through the Games' first two days.

Although it is not officially scheduled to be released until 2010, Microsoft is starting to talk up Windows 7, its next OS. To that end, it has started a blog hosted by the two senior engineering managers for the Windows 7 product, Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky, and is promising to release in-depth technical specs in October, first at the Professional Developers Conference and then at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference. DeVaan and Sinofsky demonstrate that Microsoft has learned from the Vista experience.

Facebook continues to feel the ramifications of its controversial Beacon advertising platform, which for a short while last year broadcast information about the social networking site's users' activities without their express permission. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Facebook as well as several partners that participated in the program, including Fandango, Blockbuster, Overstock.com and Hotwire. After a significant user backlash, Facebook put in place more stringent controls for users to keep certain activities private.

Intel has announced revised details for next-generation USB 3.0 technology, dubbed "SuperSpeed." The updated draft specifications for USB 3.0 software and hardware interface provide a standardized method for USB 3.0 controllers to communicate with SuperSpeed USB software. The specifications give manufacturers and software developers something to work with as they prep for the transition. The specs also aid in establishing interoperability between devices from multiple manufacturers, an important step in terms of consumer adoption of USB 3.0.

T-Mobile may be partnering with cell phone handset manufacturer HTC to deliver the first smartphone running Google's Android platform, according to reports. Unnamed sources briefed on T-Mobile's plans have said the carrier could announce the phone as early as September -- and would almost certainly have an offering out in the wild as early as October, in time for the holiday selling season. Another report goes a few steps further: It cites an unofficial T-Mobile blog that claimed the new phone, to be called the "G1," would launch Sept. 17 to T-Mobile customers only.

Sun has released a new development kit aimed at mobile software developers. The toolkit will allow developers to create user interfaces for Java-based mobile phone applications. The package is being made available for download by the company under the title "Light-Weight UI Toolkit" or LWUIT. The company hopes that the open-source LWUIT will make it easier for Java developers to create applications for the Java ME mobile phone platform, further developing the growth of Java on mobile phones and smartphone handsets.

An Italian judge has ordered the country's Internet service providers to block access to The Pirate Bay, a Swedish file-sharing Web site, as part of a probe into copyright law violation, officials said Thursday. Since last week, Italy's anti-fraud police have been informing providers they must heed the order of a judge in the northern city of Bergamo, police Col. Alessandro Nencini said. Nencini said the judge had granted a request by Italian prosecutors, who have placed four Swedes under investigation for organizing the Web site. The ruling can be appealed.

Netflix said Thursday that major technical problems over the past three days have severely limited the number of DVDs it could send out. The unspecified problems affected all of the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company's 55 shipping centers and marked the biggest disruption in service since Netflix launched its DVD-by-mail subscription business nine years ago. Normal shipments from the online DVD rental leader were expected to resume on Friday, according to Netflix spokesperson Steve Swasey.

Brand is always among the top factors for consumers when they purchase a product. However, rankings between the top factor categories change by specific product. Brand has power for gaming and laptops but lower importance for digital photo frames and NAS. Where brand power is high, price sensitivity drops, and strong awareness of available brands exists. Where it is low, the reverse is true. Universal remote controls are at the weak side of the middle. The weaker the importance of brand to a buying consumer, the less likely that consumer is to remain loyal to a specific brand.

The Apple-focused blogosphere has been dominated this week by iPhone 3G reception and connectivity issues. Speculation as to the cause has been rampant, Apple's not talking, and most -- but not all -- carriers are keeping their lips zipped, too. Meanwhile, the iPhone money train keeps picking up steam, ringing up $30 million in App Store sales in its first 30 days. So somebody, apparently, is getting enough connectivity to download and install a lot of iPhone apps.

Every blogger should know the story of Heather B. Armstrong, nee Hamilton. In February 2002 she was fired from her job for blogging about her job. Blogs were relatively new at that time, and they were on few employers' radars. Hamilton, though, crossed an invisible line -- one not explicitly defined by her employer -- and paid for it. She coined the term "dooce" as a label for anyone fired for blogging. Five years later, most people online know the drill: Don't blog about work, unless your employer approves.

The emergence of smaller, more powerful handheld devices and the spread of high-speed mobile networks have enterprise software developers scrambling to meet demand for portable versions of their flagship applications. Research In Motion got a jump on the market with the BlackBerry's secure and reliable e-mail delivery capabilities. Competitors, including Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson, are all vying for a share of the market. Given recent enhancements made to the iPhone, Apple has to be added to the list of contenders.