Telstra, the former state-owned phone company, has spent the last three years building out a so-called “Next G” network, which currently boasts download speeds of more than 14 megabits per second. The network is, at its peak, about seven times faster than top speeds frequently reported by users of wireless modems on U.S. third generation, or 3G, networks.

As a result, average Australian consumers are able to avail themselves of the high-bandwidth wireless services - streaming wireless video or video chat on cell phones, say - most commonly associated with Japan and Korea, two countries that traditionally have been on the cutting edge of wireless services.

Adele Whish-Wilson, CEO of Momentum, says her company counts on ubiquitous wireless coverage - emergency workers sometimes get dispatched to rural areas that simply aren’t served by Wi-Fi or Wi-Max networks, the wireless broadband standards often cited as alternatives to upgrading traditional wireless networks.

Whish-Wilson says Telstra’s network has the potential to turn her home country into a technology center. “It is allowing Australian companies to build world-class technology because we have the infrastructure,” she said.

Indeed, upstarts in Australia are using wireless broadband networks to provide physicians with remote, rapid feedback on radiology scans or to help mining companies monitor their far-flung sites for environmental and safety hazards.

In the United States, carriers eventually plan to migrate to fourth generation, or 4G, networks that could provide network download speeds of up to 50 megabits per second. Sprint (S, Fortune 500) has launched an early version of 4G service in Baltimore that serves up download speeds of two to five megabits per second, using the WiMax standard; other wireless companies like AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) seem to prefer a standard called LTE - short for Long Term Evolution. But based on the telcos’ public statements, ubiquitous 4G coverage is several years away.

This is definitely another blow to US’s miniature wireless network. It’s ridiculous that most of the innovative technologies are developed here yet we do not have the infrastructure to support them. Soon Australians will have faster wireless bandwidth than what most people have in their broadband at home. I hope the politicians and private companies get their act together so that we can slowly catch up to other countries.

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Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing. The application details Microsoft’s vision of a situation where a standard PC is given away or heavily subsidized. The consumer then pays to use the computer, with charges based on length of usage time and performance levels.

Microsoft notes in the application that the end user could end up paying more for the computer, compared with the one-off cost entailed in the existing PC business model, but argues the user would benefit by having a PC with an extended “useful life.”

The document suggests that “both users and suppliers benefit from this new business model” because “the user is able to migrate the performance level of the computer as needs change over time, while the supplier can develop a revenue stream business that may actually have higher value than the one-time purchase model currently practiced.”

By way of example, the application posits a situation involving three “bundles” of applications and performance: office, gaming, and browsing.

“The office bundle may include word-processing and spreadsheet applications, medium graphics performance and two of three processor cores,” the document reads. “The gaming bundle may include no productivity applications but may include 3D graphics support and three of three processor cores. The browsing bundle may include no productivity applications, medium graphics performance and high-speed network interface.”

“Charging for the various bundles may be by bundle and by duration. For example, the office bundle may be $1.00 [68 pence] per hour, the gaming bundle may be $1.25 per hour and the browsing bundle may be $0.80 per hour. The usage charges may be abstracted to ‘units/hour’ to make currency conversions simpler. Alternatively, a bundle may incur a one-time charge that is operable until changed or for a fixed-usage period,” the document reads.

I see this as another attempt by Microsoft to expand its revenue source. This idea may work very well for business computing. However, I don’t believe it will ever work for personal computing. Savvy users like us who can easily upgrade computer parts for a low cost will never opt for this.

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A family facing foreclosure is anything but a unique story in these troubled economic times. But for the Sampsons of Aberdeen, Maryland, the kindness of strangers — boosted by the Internet — made for a happy holiday.

With no job, no car and no income, and facing foreclosure unless they could come up with $10,000 in two weeks, the family turned to one of her oldest friends, Jaki Grier, for help. A self-described geek, Grier started blogging years ago. Since then, she’s contributed to a magazine’s Web site and regularly posts thoughts and life happenings on her LiveJournal page. So, she published the Sampsons’s story, along with a link where people could make a donation.

At the most, Jaki thought she could raise enough money to help the Sampsons pay a security deposit on an apartment after their home was auctioned.

But donations started pouring in. Within 24 hours, Grier’s blog had raised $1,000, far exceeding her expectations. People started linking to Grier’s blog from sites across the Internet and around the country.

Four days after Grier’s blog post, she had raised $3,400 — enough to repair the Sampsons’ car. That night, Grier went to bed ecstatic. The next morning she checked her PayPal account and was stunned to find the balance had ballooned to $10,900.

In the time it took Grier to take the donation link down from her blog, the balance had reached $11,032. In just five days, she had raised enough money to save her friend’s home. A Baltimore TV station, WBAL, caught wind of the story and put it on the air. Someone contacted Daniel Sampson and offered him a job interview.

It’s very touching that in a downturn economy, people continue to show compassion and generosity toward others in need. What’s more interesting is that blogging turned out to be the quickest and best channel for reaching out. Do not under-estimate the power of blogging. It as contributed greatly in bring the internet community together.

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