Not quite across the universe, as John Lennon sung it, but here are some highlights from the Read/WriteWeb Network:

MySpace: Hot or Not? - Alex Iskold explores the current state of MySpace. So is MySpace still hot? As a trend Alex says the answer is no. But as a site, yes - while a lot of people are using the site to keep in touch with friends, for many it appears to be a place to trawl for dates and sex.

Podcast interview with Dan Cohen, CEO of Pageflakes - Read/WriteTalk host Sean Ammirati sits down with Dan Cohen and discusses his experiences working at first MyYahoo and then Pageflakes. I discovered a new term while listening to this: "social networking above the belt". When you refer to Alex's MySpace post, the meaning of that term becomes clear!

11 video download stores compared - last100 editor Steve O'Hear takes a look at eleven paid-for video download stores. He notes that while there appears to be much competition, many of the resulting services lack innovation - in terms of their technology choices and how they approach copy-protection.

Sony to challenge Apple, others in TV and movie download market - Sony is to challenge Apple in TV and movie downloads. On one hand, writes last100's Daniel Langendorf, that makes sense. Sony is carefully positioning its PlayStation 3 game console as the entertainment hub in people’s homes.

The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines - AltSearchEngines editor Charles Knight has released the latest Top 100 list. The Search Engine of the month is Answers.com.