Cisco (CSCO) and HP (HP) have been duking it over their visions for the next generation data center architecture and the battle is just getting interesting. Cisco entered the server market and HP has countered by purchasing 3Com for $2.7 billion.

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Twitter may be doomed. Time put Twitter on the cover and dished out thousands of words of fluff about it.

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AOL was the top Internet service provider when it came to customer service in 2008, according to a Forrester Research report. The rub: AOL’s top rating based on Forrester’s “customer experience index” translates into a “just OK” mark.

As a group, ISPs grade out with a “poor” rating of 59 percent based on Forrester’s customer experience index. That tally makes ISPs 10th place out of the 12 industries the research firm examined.

I sought out the Forrester report after AOL trumpeted its customer standing in a press release. I just had to see how AOL, which is trying to wind down its access business, managed to be the best house in a bad ISP neighborhood.

In fact, AOL’s 71 percent rating was the tops, AT&T (T) and MSN were the only other ISPs that had “okay” ratings. Three ISPs–Charter, Comcast (CMCSA) and Road Runner–and “very poor” ratings.

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Google (GOOG) is pondering a floating data center that could be powered and cooled by the ocean. These offshore data centers could sit three to seven miles offshore and reside in about 50 to 70 meters of water.

The search giant filed for a patent in February that was approved Aug. 28. The patent outlines a concept that would not only be savvy engineering, but deliver great returns. Rich Miller at Data Center Knowledge called Google’s patent a “startling new take on data center engineering.” I’d call it brilliant engineering, but the financial engineering could be even more impressive.

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New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s prostitute scandal is all the big news here in New York, but the lesser known tale is how an information system–the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network–played a role in his downfall. On the surface, Spitzer’s downfall is a New York tabloid’s dream. Headlines like “Ho No!” scream on the New York Post. Wall Street is downright gleeful about Spitzer’s downfall. But what really snared Spitzer was a money-laundering investigation that was flagged by SARs (suspicious activity reports) that banks have to file with the Treasury to surface everything from money laundering to terrorist activity.

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