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It's not yet clear if a week of rumors about a big Google cellular announcement today will come true. The buzz is about something called the Open Handset Alliance forming around a Linux-based cell phone spec. News.com says "a who's-who list of the mobile computing industry" is backing the initiative. To meet the man behind it all, check out this profile from yesterday's New York Times. Look for the big Google announcement around eleven AM eastern today - though it could get delayed.

Nokia has launched a music store to take on iTunes. It only works with Internet Explorer, it doesn't support Mac or Linux, it's built around the wildly unpopular Windows Media format, and there's no music from Warner Brothers. As the Wall Street Journal explains, Warner's upset about Mosh, a Nokia file-sharing service that can be used to swap copyrighted material. The TechDigest.tv site has a very detailed review. Meanwhile, Mashable sums up the critical consensus with a nasty headline.

The FCC released its semi-annual report on broadband in the US. Ars Technica has a good summary.

Penny Arcade's annual Child's Play charity drive is officially open for business. Pick a children's hospital near you and donate toys and games straight through amazon.

MIT is working on tiny carbon-free cars that can fold together. Up to eight will fit in a single parking space.

Cars from Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and Virginia tech all crossed the finish line in the DARPA Urban Challenge on Saturday. The cars had to navigate live traffic situations, like making left turns with oncoming traffic, and park, while being wholly controlled by robots.

A tank beams images of the background landscape onto itself, thus rendering it invisible.

The iconic ThinkPad laptop is dropping the IBM logo.