Wether you are a geek or just an Windows user over at arstechnica.com there is an very interesting A History of the GUI from Englebart’s NLS demo and Xerox Parc until the nowadays Windows XP and MacOSX.

Many people consider the graphical user interface to be stagnant, differing little in its basic desktop, windows, mouse, icons, and pointer concept from the original Lisa of 1983. In some respects this is because people became familiar with the Lisa/Macintosh style of graphical interface and future projects leveraged that familiarity. However, given the extremely long gestation of the GUI from its humblest beginnings, and given that personal computer sales rose exponentially only in the mid-1990s, it is probably more accurate to think of the GUI as a slow evolution towards an ideal interface. While some attempts have been made (such as Sun’s Looking Glass demo and Microsoft’s 3D user interface research project) to radically change the way we interact with the GUI, the chances of these types of changes making their way to mainstream GUIs seem remote.

However, as we look forward to Longhorn and future versions of Mac OS X, we can see that although much of the core functionality of the GUI remains unchanged since its earliest debut, the potential for adding new features and modes of interaction remains limitless.

After quite a debate Mayor John F. Street on Thursday signed off on a plan to build a network to provide wireless high-speed Internet access throughout Philadelphia.

This is quite an impressive innitiative and I’m really looking forward for the development of these kind of networks as other cities are already into it.

The network will provide free high-speed Internet access in selected areas of Philadelphia, such as parks. Internet Service Providers and community organizations will be able to use the network to sell high-speed Internet access in other areas. The network will enable them to provide that service at the cost of dial-up Internet access. (via BizJournals)

E-mail and Web addresses ending in “.eu” should appear on the Internet within the next year or so, giving Europeans a unified presence online.

Within weeks, “.eu” is expected to be formally entered into the 13 computers that form the master directories for the Domain Name System, EURid said in a statement. It will be months, though, before companies, groups and individuals can begin to register “.eu” names. The four-month sunrise period is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, meaning regular registrations won’t begin until early next year.

Supporters of the domain name believe “.eu” – for European Union – will help promote European identity and create greater visibility for pan-European e-commerce.