Best of the blogs: An event honoring missing Microsoft researcher Jim Gray, lost at sea for more than a year, is being planned at the University of California, Berkeley. “Gray is known for work as a programmer, database expert and Microsoft engineer. He helped make possible technologies such as the cash machine, e-commerce, online ticketing and deep databases,” Paul Krill reports. Related news: Coast Guard searching for missing Microsoft engineer. Columnist’s corner: Technology revolution is in the air, such that there’s “a major shift in business models due to Web 2.0,” Ephraim Schwartz reports. With old models failing, dotcom promises are finally coming true — at least in the cases of startups Toktumi and Ribbit. “Both are offering [SMBs] a complete package of telecommunications services without partnering in any way with the traditional giant carriers.” The medium is the business. But, “to paraphrase Bob Dylan, you don’t need a high-priced consultant to tell you which way the wind blows.” Web 2.0: Even tens of millions in VC money, a huge staff, and plenty of partner contracts don’t guarantee a startup success when it’s infrastructure cannot scale appropriately, as anyone who witnessed the bursting dotcom bubble can attest. Now, with Web 2.0 and corresponding business opportunities ushering in what some are saying could balloon into another bubble, our Off the Record author, who was on the front lines of the past boom, recounts lessons learned from follies of that last, oh-so-bitter bust. The news beat: None too soon, Presidential candidates stake out tech positions and, no surprise, Net neutrality and skilled-worker visas top the lists. One year but no first service pack into its life and driver problems are still haunting Windows Vista and, quite predictably, Microsoft dances its usual two-step and blames hardware vendors. The U.S. FCC approves the sale of nationwide spectrum to AT&T in the highly-coveted 700MHz band. And a civil suit filed in Florida by Dell reveals the lucrative trade in domain names. Software Development