Palm has introduced their second multi-touch phone, the Pixi.

I’m not sure if it’s the smaller form factor, smooth edges (unlike the Pre which cuts into your thumbs when typing), or the permanent keyboard, but I think I like it better than it’s predecessor.

The passing of Michael Jackson, possibly the greatest entertainer of all time, is a modern day tragedy. Never before has there been such an equally exalted and ridiculed figure in the media. Following his recent demise, Jackson remains a figure of unparalleled achievement but also mystery. His extremely private life left many filling in the blanks in his storybook life. Though occasionally he would try to use the media to address speculation made about him, one thing Michael didn’t leverage (or even have access to for the greater part of his life) was social media.

Watching parts of his memorial service on television I couldn’t help but wonder, if Michael was on Twitter would things be different? Would he have interacted with his fans and questioners in a direct way, instead of through a shroud of publicists, skewed interviews or misinformed third-parties speaking on his behalf? Would he have brought more attention and reaction to his numerous charities and causes, enabling more people to get the help they needed and at the same time painting him in a better light? Would he have quickly told his story when allegations of child molestation were made against him instead of leaving time for entertainment news to sensationalize every detail? Would Michael, the business man, use it as a vehicle to market upcoming performances, albums and appearances? Would he have ‘tweeted’ photos of him with his kids, displaying what could have been a very healthy father-child relationship? If Michael Jackson used Twitter, would it have been a way for us to see another Michael, one few fathomed existed: an ordinary guy with an extraordinary upbringing and career?

Of course, none of this matters now. It does however make me appreciate the changing landscape of media in a new way. The ability for all of us to have a voice is a powerful thing, so long as as someone listens. For Michael Jackson, we already know no one had more listeners.

Update: As of recently there is an official Michael Jackson Twitter account. It would be interesting if it became a place to remember him through posts of archived messages and media.

• The Olympics – NYTimes.com created this great tool to track all your favorite events here
• Bell Canada rebrands and relaunches
• Pantry, a local gourmet-to-go kitchen, grocery and coffee shop owned and operated by my friend Greg Bolton gets some love from blogTO
• Greg Washington, the visual god behind inqmnd, joins the crew at teehan+lax and promptly launches a new blog, anotherfaceinthecrowd
• The Salvation Army of Ontario is looking for men’s shirts and pants, please help
• Three words. Scooters. Fatties. Info.
• Are you a Redesigner or a Realigner?
• Ride the Pineapple Express. You will not be disappointed.
• Meant to post this a while ago: The Sartorialist captures Kanye and his fiancee
• EA Skate is coming to the Wii

• Teehan+Lax-designed Telus Holiday Gift Guide is live 
• Facebook’s ad service, Beacon: Not cool.
• CSS-savvy developers get some “Best of 2007″ love
• Get to know Jamario Moon (specifically his hops)
• Leaving a huge void in Southern Rap music: Pimp C of Houston-based UGK unexpectedly passes
• The Raptors have 3 of the NBA’s top 21 most efficient players. (No other team outside of the Spurs has that many).
• Coming soon: HD on the Web
• Favorite Things: Dinner at Xacutti.  The perfect mix of food, service and ambience 

Despite the marketing hype, this is a phone that really gets the interactions right (and the ads are the best I’ve seen in sometime, as Jason at SvN has pointed out).

UPDATE: More information via Qode, the main provider of this technology.

Again, I can’t stress how much I love this project. We are fortunate to be able to access information and education for free and now these kids will have the same opportunity. Moreso, they’ll experience computers in a much different way than most of have (until now) — as social, collaborative tools that foster relationships and group work instead just being fast typewriters.

If you’re still not getting the impact, think of the first thing you learned on a computer. Most of us will probably say word processing or a single-player game. These kids will be learning about setting up groups by seeking out other OLPC laptops and creating projects. And if you think of all the MySpace’s, Facebook’s, dating sites and IM tools, isn’t that what we’re just figuring out how to do now?