New Nook Coming Out
Barnes & Noble is set to release a new version of the Nook this spring. The New York Times suspects that if the Nook doesn't do well, the traditional book will fall by the wayside as ebooks dominate. If the new Nook does succeed in the marketplace, B&N can maintain physical stores.

Kinect on Laptops?
A leak at Microsoft is implying that the X-Box Kinect could be used on a laptop running Windows 8. Microsoft has already announced that the Kinect could be available February 1st for desktops. Given that the computing market is diversifying ("Post-PC world"), Kinects on laptops is a natural progression.

Corporate Rivals Teaming Up to Fight Spam
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, AOL, and Facebook are working together, targeting spam and phishing. The tech companies are working with PayPal and the Bank of America to fight the scourge of the Internet. So, which one gets to be Heart?

Facebook IPO
Steve has mentioned this, and I've pointed out relateed news stories in the past month, but it looks like Facebook's IPO could come next week. The initial value could be $100 billion. Goldman-Sachs could be significant in the IPO. I just wish I wasn't using "could" – the IPO seems very probable, but no word is coming from Facebook.

Update!  People are expecting the IPO to have a twist as Zuckerberg does something that doesn't follow traditional wisdom.  The fallout is going to have repercussions.

Cellphones and Smartphones Aid Shopping
Over 50% of cellphone owners use them to help with shopping. Shoppers use their phones to look for the highest quality item and to compare prices. Retailers will need an online presence, even if they don't process online sales, at this rate.

–Scott D