Web 1.0: Static web pages, and simple ecommerce

Web 2.0: Tagging, AJAX, blogging and other social, interactive connections and networks (myspace, delicious, flickr, digg etc.). [wikipedia definition]

Web 3.0: UI breakthroughs lead to new online experiences, including the rise of game-like interfaces for work, communication and play, seamless speech recognition for navigation and other applications, real-time language translations of text, audio and video content, seamless integration of web-stored content across web-enabled devices, and applications that can fully leverage touch screen or finger gesture recognition technology.

[For an incredible speech by Bran Ferren, Co-Chairman, Applied Minds, click here]

[UPDATE (6-8-06): A magical UI]

Web 4.0 and beyond: Mind-computer connection, and development of lifelike Artificial Intelligence.

[Man Meets Machine]

[the web as an enabler of AI]

[nanotechnology and virtual reality]

Any thoughts?

Virgin Mobile USA is launching a program June 14 whereby people can earn up to 75 minutes of free talk time a month simply by watching 30 second ads and answering a few easy questions to prove they were paying attention. Virgin has 4 million (mostly teenage) consumers. [via nyt]

Exploiting the red hot user customization trend, M&M’s has an incredibly cool web offering to create custom printed M&Ms. You can select the colors, and custom printing of up to 2 lines with 8 characters each. 4 bags costs $40. M&M’s has also launched a limited time selection of exotic flavors, including “All that Razz” (creamy white chocolate + milk chocolate +raspberry shell), “A Day at the Peach” (peach flavored shell), and “Cookie Minister” (crispy center and mint flavored shell).

P&G’s Pringles has also launched a line of a chips with printed themes, including jokes, world records, Daytona 500 trivia, and Survivor Trivia printed right on the chip, which creates an innovative experience of entertainment fused with crispy, snack enjoyment. Pringles is also soliciting ideas from consumer for future printing themes.

Columbia and Oregon State University are developing a concept to harness wave energy via buoys off the coast of Oregon, which could potentially supply 20% of the state’s energy. How it works: A permanent neodymium-iron-born magnet is forced back and through an electric coil by the modulation of waves. Feasibility studies are underway, including studies to determine the impact on sea birds and marine life.

[thanks, gizmodo]