ICQ 7 is only available for Windows. Mac users can rest assured that they are not missing out on much.

Sadly, ICQ doesn't excel at integrating any of these social networks. Facebook users, for example, can comment on status updates from their friends but there is no button to "like" an item. Interestingly, you can "like" your own updates but not those of your friends.

The Twitter client can display updates from all your friends on the service, but you filter this feed to just see @replies or direct messages, making ICQ 7 mostly useless as a Twitter client.

ICQ's PR material stresses that "users no longer need to open a browser and log into each and every network they're members in." For any meaningful interaction on these social networks, you still need to open up your browser, however.

One of the few positive aspects of ICQ's social network integration is that it allows you to post an update to all of these networks simultaneously.

One highly annoying aspect if ICQ 7's installation procedure is that - by default - the application wants to change your default search engine to ICQ Search and install the ICQ toolbar. While ICQ Search is an inoffensive retooling of Google Search, we would prefer the company be a bit more open about these changes. Currently, they are tucked away in the install dialog where users are likely to just click "next" instead of doing a close reading of the dialog's text.

Stay Away, Even If You are Feeling Nostalgic

Besides nostalgia, there aren't a lot of good reasons to install ICQ 7 at this point. The social networking integration is haphazard at best. As an instant messaging network, ICQ has clearly seen better days. In an age where good multi-network IM clients like Digsby, Pidgin, Meebo or Adium can easily connect you to all your friends on every network, there really isn't a need to install a single-purpose IM client anymore.

There was a myth that Israelis were not very good at creating consumer-facing products. Notwithstanding their creation of ICQ, Israelis were known as engineers and researchers who did well within the confines of a lab but not so well when reaching out to end consumers. Over the last couple of years, though, the high-tech industry in Israel has gone through dramatic changes.

The stars of the Israeli tech scene were once companies like Comverse and Amdocs. Now, we're seeing an influx of great Web 2.0 media and social startups, such as:

• FoxyTunes, the Firefox plugin that allows users to control iTunes directly from their browser, and which was acquired by Yahoo for a reported $30 million;
• MyHeritage , the world's largest family network, which has already documented over 330 million family members and is reportedly bringing in some of the highest revenue of any Israeli Web startup;
• Kaltura, an open-source platform for the creation and consumption of rich-media Web applications, whose clients include Wikipedia, Universal Studios, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi.

So, what's in store for Israel's startup world?

Israel succeeds by blending the old with the new. The country will continue to exploit its innate talent for research and development and continue to make inroads with social media applications, all the while sticking to intensive, customer-driven products.

A few Israeli newborns to keep your eyes on:

• SimilarWeb, an intelligent add-on that sits in your browser and provides easy access to websites with similar content;
• Boxee, a cross-platform freeware media center with social networking features and a 10-foot user interface design for the living-room TV;
• CamSpace, a new interface for computer games that uses innovative computer vision technology that allows everyone with a webcam to play games Wii-style;
• Vetrina's, a virtual window-shopping platform that transforms the online shopping experience.

The glue holding this generation of Israeli startups together is that while the companies are now all consumer- and media-related, they have a more technological edge than can be found in companies elsewhere. You can take the engineers out of the lab, but you can't take the lab out of the engineers.

Guest author Ayelet Noff is one of Israel's most renowned bloggers. She is also the founder and CEO of Blonde 2.0, a full consultancy firm whose mission is to help brands understand how to use social media tools (social networks, the blogosphere, and social software) effectively in order to carry their messages across the globe.

The pocket sized MiFi is capable of connecting users and devices

In addition to being a portable Internet hotspot, the EVDO blog notes that the MiFi has an onboard Linux processor capable of hosting software applications and additional content storage capabilities via MicroSD.

Novatel claims the internal battery will provide over forty hours standby and up to four hours of active use on a single charge, and that certain configurations will support applications like auto VPN, automatic syncing of e-mail and remote management capabilities.

The MiFi will be available in the first quarter of 2009 through a variety of retail outlets and Engadget reports the MiFi should be priced under $300.

Released under a Creative Commons 3.0 license, the document provides a comprehensive comparison of security features of the commonly used browsers; IE (version 6 and 7), Firefox (version 2 and 3), Safari, Opera, Chrome and the lesser known Android embedded browser.

Browser security has been an ongoing problem over the years and was the first subject discussed during the browser wars panel at the Add-on conference last week. Earlier this year, Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman uncovered an attack known as clickjacking, which gives an attacker the ability to trick a user into clicking where the attacker wants on a site. A good overview can be found on the Computerworld site, which has a clickjacking FAQ:

"In plain English, clickjacking lets hackers and scammers hide malicious stuff under the cover of the content on a legitimate site. You know what happens when a carjacker takes a car? Well, clickjacking is like that, except that the click is the car."

Clickjacking is one of the issues covered in the security handbook which is divided into three sections:

1. Basic concepts behind Web browsers with reviews of core standards and technologies behind current browsers and their security properties
2. Standard browser security features details explicit security mechanisms and restrictions
3. Experimental and legacy security mechanisms discusses security mechanisms that have either fallen into disuse or never caught on, as well as those yet to prove their worth.

The document appears to be an ongoing project; you can find more details here.

Image Credit: Thanks Darwin Bell