A number of sources have reported that AOL has introduced weblogs which they call AOL Journals. [Here's the site to get at AOL Journals http://hometown.aol.com/ and the AOL press release announcing AOL Journals http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_num=55253359]

Susan Mernit: "According to an insider, AOL Journals already has about 7000 users." [Scripting News]

Here's another example of a networked appliance that also has a lot of local storage, the application being reading stuff.

Hi-tech tome takes on paperbacks. US researchers have developed a prototype e-book which can hold a whole library on a gadget no bigger than a paperback. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Japan Launches National ID System. A national computerized ID system that was criticized for its big-brother overtones became fully operational today, assigning Japan's 126 million citizens with an 11-digit number. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: Technology]

In the slashdot article they reference this "Yahoo Blog" in Kroea's broadband market. http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/ With both MSN and AOL experimenting with blogs, some kind of Yahoo move was inevitable.

Yahoo Experimenting with Blogs?. Tee Emm writes "Sven Latham reports on his Yet Another Blog that Yahoo is (probably) experimenting with its blog services for its general users. The test bench ... [Slashdot]

Ingram spies potential in surveillance. The giant distributor of information-technology products steps into the surveillance market, in a move to provide one-stop shopping for its resellers and customers. [CNET News.com]