We looked at the recent news that Microsoft had decided to embrace RSS in a big way in its upcoming releases of Internet Explorer and Windows "Longhorn" and determined that this was a Good Thing. This week, we're taking a look at implementing Google Sitemaps, a similar technology developed by Google in order to help you define your site more effectively to the search-engine behemoth. This is not a ticket to a higher Google ranking (at least not that we know about); but it is a useful tool that lets you apply RSS-like control to your website's interactions with the Googlebot.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the current heavyweight of so-called "disruptive technologies" (loosely defined as those that have the effect, if not developed with the intention, of changing the way we use technology in general) and its use is skyrocketing among content providers looking for a way to get their content in front of more eyes and ears. But RSS originally stood for Rich Site Summary, a standard way of cataloging your site's content for third-party aggregators.

Google Sitemaps have a similar function, in that they are an XML-based way to describe website content in a standard, predictable way; but they differ in that Sitemaps are intended for the Googlebot's eyes only, rather than for any third-party. Think of them as an automated way to make sure Google knows about your site's content (please note, however, that Google does not guarantлe inclusion of your content based solely on the presence of a Sitemap file).

This sounds like a very specific undertaking, but the importance of Google to getting your site's content noticed can simply not be overstated. And with Google's expanding reach into more and more areas of Web content presentation, chances are that you can be assured that the information your Sitemap provides will eventually find some use you haven't yet thought about. That's what disruptive technology is all about, and Google has become one of the more innovative champions of such technological advances.

Last Week Erum Engineering & Consulting Australia sign up with Apex Solutions for their website development and hosting solution.

After an activity-packed three days, the fall 2005 installment of ISPCON (ispcon.com) concluded Thursday at the Westin Santa Clara hotel in Santa Clara, California.

Organizers estimated attendance at more than 2,600. The three-day event featured more than 100 exhibitors present and almost 50 informational sessions spread out across five topic tracks - wireless, hosting, technology and customers, VoIP and business.

The event continued a trend in the planning of ISPCON events to include an ever-increasing focus on the Web hosting side of Internet services. Jon Price, the event's chief organizer, says hosting's role is obvious. Very few ISPs, at this point, are unwilling to expand beyond the pipe with new services.

ISPCON Fall 2005's hosting focus was manifest in a series of hosting discussions spread over the three days, including presentations from Hostopia's Paul Engels, Jamcracker's Brent Arslaner, Flyingservers' Hans Kind, Microsoft's Morgan Cole, Delaware.Net's John McKown, HostMySite's Lou Honick, Perimeter Internetworking's Brad Miller and Superb Internet's Haralds Jass.

Wednesday's keynote address, and possibly the conference's most enthusiastically attended event, was "Hosting 2.0: Building the Ьber-host," a panel discussion that featured Robert Marsh of EV1Servers, Warren Adelman of Go Daddy, Paul Stapleton of I$P HO$TING Report and Mark Teolis of Peer 1 Network, and moderated by Internet lawyer and regular WHIR contributor David Snead.

Wednesday's events concluded with a dinner reception sponsored by 01 Communications, followed by the informal Open Source Communications Exchange and ISP-CEO Exchange events.

ISPCON concluded Thursday with the giveaway of a car - a new Chevy HHR - to an attendee selected by drawing a ballot stamped by a series of sponsors during the show.

Attendees embraced the Web hosting focus at the fall ISPCON, highlighting the extent of the unity between the two very complimentary areas of business. And many of those said the event appeared to be the biggest in years, a fact that bodes well for the greater inclusion of Web hosting material in future events.

It's already well understood that the Internet is everywhere – we refer, after all, to the World Wide Web. But wireless networking technology added a new sort of ubiquity to the Internet, making it accessible in a new, and even more pervasive way. Now, the network really is everywhere, as wireless routers project their invisible signals from even the most unassuming spots.

The development and proliferation of wireless hot spots means that a traveling worker with a wi-fi-capable laptop, or other device, is rarely more than a few blocks from tapping into an available network.

Companies providing commercial hot spots cater to those traveling types, setting up connecting points at airports, hotels and cafes around the world – and countless stores, restaurants and other services have set up their own independent networks, often allowing access for free.

Subscriber Services

Dozens of commercial wi-fi service providers like T-Mobile and Boingo have set up thousands of hot spots around the globe, making it easy for travelers to stay connected.

With a password-protected subscription service, T-Mobile has placed a network of 16,690 T1-supported wireless hot spots – 5,779 of them in the US – at locations belonging to its partners. The company offers a pay-as-you-go rate, as well as a $9.99 day pass, a $39.99 monthly subscription and a yearly pass.

A T-Mobile subscription allows a user to connect to hot spots at Starbucks coffee shops, Borders book stores, FedEx Kinko's office shops, a variety of airports and the airline clubs of Delta, United and American airlines, as well as hotel chains including Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, Doubletree and Renaissance.

Boingo provides a similar service, offering a $9.95 24-hour connection and a monthly plan starting at $21.95, as well as a range of business plans. Boingo offers a worldwide network of 18,000 hot spots through partnerships with many of the same hotels and airports as T-Mobile. The company also works with carriers and ISPs to provide branded hot spots – and deals with individual locations to help them set up hot spots on site.

In July, Boingo partnered with voice over IP carrier Skype to create locations called "Skype Zones," which enable subscribers to make VoIP connections through Boingo hot spots. For a monthly rate of $8, customers gain unlimited access for Skype calls through the Boingo service. This, and a previous arrangement with Vonage are apparently part of a far-reaching Boingo VoIP strategy.

Finding the Hot Spot

Whether you're a customer of a commercial service or you seek out freely available networks, a nearby hot spot may be closer than you think. Of course, subscription services like Boingo and T-Mobile map out their own locations, but there are several independent online search tools that enable visitors to locate nearby hot spots of both the commercial and free variety.

Internet.com's Wi-FiHotSpotList.com (wi-fihotspotlist.com) contains an index of wireless hot spots around the world that can be browsed by region, or using a search function. The tool displays hot spots by name, address and provider type.

CNET.com also offers a searchable and browsable database, called the HotSpot Zone (cnet.jiwire.com), which indexes wireless hot spots around the world, including more than 21,000 in the US and more than 7,000 in the UK.

These online services allow hot spot operators to submit their own details, meaning even the free network at the mom-and-pop coffee shop around the corner may be listed.