As long as more devices and carriers come onboard, though, the technology might be the long-term key to pulling us away from fenced-off conversations in Google Talk or Skype.

ENGADGET: MetroPCS intros first Rich Communication Services on LTE, touts universal contacts and chat (video)

It embarrasses me to hear people talk this way I think I'll be a low-key sort of elf.

NPR: Crumpet the Elf Reads from Santaland Diaries

Narayen, Chizen's low-key successor, isn't having any of that talk.

FORBES: Ubiquitous Upside

Other key issues are the size of the force - there's been talk of between 10, 000 and 30, 000 troops - and whether the force would be deployed before or after the disarming of Hezbollah.

NPR: Rice Jousts with Diplomats on Lebanon Solution

Tan, chief executive, says the product tackles a key flaw of the Web: For all the talk of interactivity, it is primarily a one-way medium imposed on a mute audience.

FORBES: Wisecrack-ware