I am attending a Thomson NETg meeting in Chicago, and I’ve just played a stock based trading simulation with 20 other large corporations. After a few "years" of trading on eLearning and eLearning stocks, we then discussed why we made the trades we did …

One very controversial topic was advertised based learning. Would you be willing to use eLearning that has ads? Some companies said "no way". However, what if Microsoft offered 300 software courses for free, but you had to log in via their portal … with obvious advertisements?

Hello from Krakow! I am sitting in an Internet cafe two blocks off the main square in Krakow (pronounced Kra – koof). This town in southern Poland is delightful, and full of history. Krakow was not destroyed during World War II, and thus all the old buildings have survived. Better yet, the dollar is strong versus the Zloty … which means great meals and other value for a very reasonable price.

For instance, one full hour in this Internet cafe will only set me back 66 cents! It is hard to spend over $50 for a real nice dinner with wine. In fact, last night my wife and I dined at a Russian cafe, with two glasses of wine each … our total bill was $30. Krakow is easily as beautiful as Prague, and there is a lot more value for your money.

On the technology front, this town in Central Europe is full of contradictions. The city is buzzing with activity as it moves into the 21st century, yet in many town squares you still find "working" hand water pumps. Yesterday we took a day trip to Zakopane, a mountain village in the High Tatras in the Carpathian Mountains. During the train ride, we passed a train yard with several working steam engines.

We head back this afternoon to Ostrava in the Czech Republic. My wife and I will spend one more weekend with our newly married "Czech daughter".  Time to go have breakfast … pastry from a sidewalk vendor. Life is tough!

• A few of my photos from Krakow … and the Czech Republic

Next week it will be back to software and engineering content!

Star Date: 20061005 … Commander Hoeg, the Northstar Nerd at the helm. We have entered n space, the dangerous region between Suomi and the Adirondack Mountains. For a full report, link to:

• Star Trek … In the Pirkinning (from Finland / Suomi)

But wait …. the Americans fight back … created by the fans themselves deep in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state:

• c|Net Video: Star Trek – New Voyages (behind the scenes)
• Star Trek – New Voyages – Official Web Site

No …. this is not a wild party of engineers! Instead, for you Americans … take a walk across the pond to the U.K. and subscribe to a neat show, the Naked Scientist!

• Downloadable Show Archives
• Subscribe to Future Shows

Give the show a try … with a name like this … it’s got to be interesting!

Everyone reads about mySpace, or FaceBook … but how many of you are using professional Web 2.0 networks? Anyhow, I had an interesting experience which validated the rise of social networks. I met my new boss via Linkedin!

• 3:43 pm – I receive an email announcement about my new boss. He is an external hire, and has started work the same day
• 3:45 pm – I send an email to my new manager welcoming him to my company
• 3:46 pm – I Google my new manager’s name
• 3:49 pm – I discover my new manager has a Linkedin profile
• 3:50 pm – I invite my new manager into my Linkedin network
• 3:55 pm – My new manager accepts my Linkedin invitation
• 4:05 pm – After reading my new manager’s profile, I then call and meet him for the first time by phone.

Thus, my first experience was via Google and LinkedIn. My second experience was via the phone. Next week I will be out East for a business trip, and will complete cycle (i.e. meet in person). I think the fact that this kind of scenario plays out at all is significant. Are you using the web to your advantage?

Here is my own Linkedin "public profile". Please note that my private profile is much longer. One only gains access to the private profile once "linked in".