“We designed Google Wave and its open federation protocol to help peoplecollaborate and communicate more efficiently,” said Lars Rasmussen, softwareengineering manager for Google Wave.

“We are very excited to see Novell supporting the Google Wave federationprotocol in its innovative Novell Pulse product.”

Available via the cloud or as an appliance, Novell Pulse is expected to bereleased in the first half of next year. Novell said that it will allow groupsof people to collaborate on document creation regardless of location, and havedigital conversations with multiple people, as well as share web sites, commonfiles and media.

Each user will have one personal email and Google Wave inbox with informationrelating to their tasks and workgroups, Novell said, while provisioning andpermissions can be controlled centrally by an administrator. Presenceinformation and real-time messaging is also included.

Like a cross between email, instant messaging and social networking, Google Wave has the potential to revolutionise the way we communicate over the internet – and that’s why it’s so thrilling that we’ve got an invite to see how it works.

We’ve found it very easy to use, especially because it features the same interface whether you’re communicating instantaneously with someone else online, or sending a message for someone to pick up later.

Groups of people can use it to collaborate on a single wave (what the system calls its message threads), and it’s easy to drop pictures and videos directly into your messages.

Google Wave trials to begin

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the system is also open to plug-ins. A bunch of these are already available – for things like Google Maps, games, weather – and the list is growing all the time.

Google Wave not fully available until late 2010

Because of the real-time collaboration element, games of chess can be as quick as playing face-to-face or turns can wait for days until the next time you go online. Sudoku can be turned from a lonely pastime into a competitive affair.

Or, if you’re going on a group outing, you can put all the places you want to go and see into a Google Map, as your travelling companions do the same thing at the same time. You’ll see their updates as you’re adding your own. You could then discuss the merits of each place within the wave. When you get back, use a new wave to share all your photos.

Google Wave invite scam warning

It’s these dual elements of timeliness and collaboration that we think are the main strengths of Google Wave. When using it, you don’t need to decide whether to send an email or an instant message because it simply doesn’t matter – waves are both types of message at the same time. And with the ability to edit as you communicate, working and playing with other people becomes a whole lot easier.

The biggest downside is that it takes a heavy toll on Google’s servers. To ensure that those who are already testing it have a useful experience there are only several hundred thousand people on it. That may sound like a lot but you may still struggle to find many (or any) friends. The expected date for it to become open to everyone is the latter end of 2010. However, people already on the waiting list should get invited to join in sooner than that.

Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he — we feel certain — felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren’t enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.

Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber — wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles — eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.

Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous “ladies,” giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked… at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.

Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home — on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse — he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.

17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual ‘Furniture’
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site ‘Habbo’ in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime — whether actual or virtual — does not pay.

Phishers Going After Your Phones in New ‘Vishing’ Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones’ fertile frontier. The result? “Vishing.” Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn’t sound like a James Bond villain saying, “Wishing.”

Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into — that’s right, into — a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they — apparently uninterested in the cash register — stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We’ve all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation’s thieves, too?