First off, I am a Google Wave beta tester. Second, Google will issue the first user invites on September 30th. Third, just like anything else Google these days you log in with your Gmail account. Your friends list comes from your Gmail account just like Google Friend Connect friends do. Hence Google Wave is what will tie Google Friend Connect together into something useful. It is the final piece of the pie. Not to mention just like anything Google there is a much greater plan than meets the eye. I just hired a programmer to get to the bottom of what all the API hooks can do. Finally, Google Wave is real confusing, it is not easy to use. Lastly, the most attractive thing on Wave is the ability to use the Twitter app to turn Twitter into a conversation that rolls by in real time. If I could use Twitter more efficiently and be able to follow the conversation even if I came in days later that would be worth using Twitter heavily. Right now it just sucks the life out of my day. As far as Wave being email, or IM, think email of IM but with 50 recipients and being organized into a conversation and all being social friends and interested in discussing the topic. To bad it will never penetrate Facebook, Ballmer screwed that with Facebook Connect and the FB investment. Another issue and not for this discussion. But a closed loop. Like I said it is confusing and hard to understand in it's extreme beta format. Just hang tight and if you signed up for the release hope you are in the first 100K and watch your email on September 30th. If you have questions that are best not asked here, I am available off list, just check my profile. Chris Lang

Now you can sell your eBooks in Kindle format at Amazon.com. It will cost your $250 to get an ISBN, take to weeks to get the numbers, then it will take you 60 to 90 days to get paid by Amazon. Not to mention they take their chunk first. OR, you could sell the book today, in about five minutes, from your web site, in PDF. Ever download a music file, Pogue? If you have then you have no right to complain about some one sharing your book. I concentrate on the sales, not the sales that could have been. I have a 10 Gig music library from the Napster days. I have nothing to complain about if someone shares my eBooks. Pirate my stuff and you and my lawyer will have a little meeting. If someone is pirating your content just sue them. Put a nice fat judgment on their credit report and a lean against their house. Issue closed.