Geek Week in Review

Hello Dalai, Goodbye Google. Reports from the far east say Web surfers in China who are trying to reach Google or Yahoo are being redirected to Chinese based search engines. Search wonks suspect the Chinese government is mad at President Bush for presenting an award to the Dalai Lama, and this is their way of retaliating. (Other reports suggest that this is only happening to some Chinese netizens.) If true, this could be the first step in a prolonged cyberbattle with the Asian superpower. If we don’t stop handing out swag to people the PRC doesn’t like, they may stop pirating all of our movies, music, and software.

Everybody’s Trying to be my Baby. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg must feel like the only girl at a testosterone clinic. Everybody keeps throwing money, chocolate, and flowers at his company in the hopes of winning their hearts (or whatever other body parts are available). Microsoft wants a piece. So does Google. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg says FB’s got a sugar daddy who will keep it in champagne and bon-bons for the foreseeable future — and forestall what would likely be the second biggest tech IPO of this millennium. The question still remains, however: after all that wooing, will Facebook finally put out?

Dominus deus iPhonus. Diety-in-waiting Steve Jobs has announced that next February Apple will release an SDK for creating third-party iPhone apps. It’s taking that long because Apple needs to create an open platform for developers. And by “open,” rest assured Apple means “open to those with a valid ID that we feel like letting in and, please, no more of that SIM unlocking funny business.” Remember St. Steven’s first commandment: Thou shalt not hack thy holy operating system.

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