So how many social networks do you belong too? Two? Five? More?

Chances are there are wrinkles and differences to the personal information you provide on each -- say, MySpace versus LinkedIn. A Silicon Valley startup collects information from public data on more than 30 social networking sites, including Flickr, LinkedIn, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Windows Live Spaces and YouTube. With a Spokeo  account you can add friends, or anyone else for that matter, by email or their profile URL, and the site collects their information from the social networks they belong to.

Each time you log in to Spokeo you'll get a summary of changes made by your friends,  or any other folks your tracking, at these sites. Spokeo calls its service, which only collects information that is public on these sites, a "Friend Tracker." 

A blog entry by Spokeo's founder Harrison, begins: "Whenever I introduce Spokeo to my friends, their first reactions are always "Wow!", then "Hm ... this is a little scary", then "This is freaking cool!".

Didn't see this one coming. Dell announced it's joined with Collexis Holdings, Inc. to launch BioMedExperts.com, a new online community that links medical experts in more than 120 countries with over 1.4 million profiles and 12 million pre-established network connections.  The aim of the site is to help drive information sharing and discussion between the biomedical and life science research community.

Dell is providing computer hardware to power the Collexis-designed BioMedExperts site. Dell will also provide marketing support for BioMedExperts, including co-branded marketing efforts and promotions at major life science research conferences. While this may seem far afield from Dell's core competency, the computer giant says there is plenty of relevant opportunity as IT is uniquely poised to speed drug discovery, development and healthcare delivery. "BioMedExperts is a cutting-edge tool that can link researchers from around the globe and enable this new level of collaboration," said James Coffin, Ph.D., vice president and general manager of Dell's Health Care and Life Sciences group.

And now you also know Dell has a Health care and Life Sciences group.

Seems like car makers were falling all over themselves last year to tout the latest in iPod connectivity and convenience for music lovers. But the next step in adding computer doodads goes way beyond music and Chrysler wants to lead the charge.

At the recent International Auto Show in Detroit, Chrysler said its working aggressively to develop an advanced, in-vehicle wireless communications system that provides increased security and convenience, and goes "well beyond" what systems currently available provide.

Higher gas prices means less driving? Bah! Chrysler execs don't see that equation playing out anytime soon.

"We recognize that customers are spending more and more time in their vehicles, and that the automobile is becoming much like an additional room in the home or office," Frank Klegon, Chrysler's executive VP for product development, said in a release.

Chrysler's technology roadmap for vehicle connectivity over the next few years starts with cellular and WiFi, but then expands to WiMax which of course offers significantly higher speeds and bandwidth compared to WiFi and doesn't rely on a network of hot spots.

Features Klegon said will be coming to Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles over the next few years include:

*  Turn-by-turn navigation combined with satellite imagery to provide more realistic maps.

*  Internet search and email access including audio read-out of messages using text-to-text speech, and sending messages via voice command.

*  The ability to make on-line purchases, view streaming movies and download music.

*  Wireless audio and video file transfer from home computer to car

And here you thought cell phones were a distraction!

Perhaps the precursor to all this was "Millie's Book, the 1990 best seller supposedly penned by First Lady Barbara Bush's dog Millie. Now comes the announcement of Pet-Files.com, a Web Site/social network dedicated to pets. The idea is to let pet lovers see other's pets, read their blogs (ah, poor Snoopy left us far too early), get in touch through comments, rate photos and videos and just have fun with all things pet-related.

Pet-Files, which bills itself as the "world-wide pet community" said its free site offers unlimited photos, videos, profile pages and blogs -- and you don't even need to register. Finally, my cats can feel free to dish some real dirt without fear of retribution!

Marco Bellinaso, said in his own blog posting that he started Pet-files from his home in Italy after his attempts at a personal blog and one on technical subjects both "failed miserably." Now he's got a new pet project.

"I decided it's time to try again, this time with a blog about pets, my greatest passion together with software and technology," said Bellinaso in a blog posting where he also profiles Mescal, his three year-old cat.

For his part, Mescal blogs that his best trick is: "I can run away at the light speed when I need to. I also silently go after my human and not-human victims and make sudden little attacks that make everyone laugh."

Pets.com was one of the great Web failures, but who knows, maybe Pet-files is on to something.

Apple didn't bother waiting a week to roll out new Macs at the Macworld Expo – the company went ahead and announced ahead of the show which starts January 15 in San Francisco. Nothing wrong with that, just a surprise given Apple's propensity to keep its product plans close to the vest until Master Steve takes the stage.

The pre-announcement surely guarantees the biggest news at Macworld won't be a new Mac, at least not a conventional one. Rumors have flied fast and furious that CEO Steve Jobs will unveil a subnotebook or ultralight portable at the show. The old news of new Macs will surely be just a warm up for the packed crowd of media and Apple acolytes on hand for Job's keynote. I would also expect more news on the iPod front, particularly on the content side with some new deals announced and gushing sales figures for the iPhone.

Apple's favorite enemy/collaborator, Microsoft, will surely trot out an exec to talk about the new version of Office for the Mac, the first major update since 2004. Just don't expect it to be CEO Steve Ballmer. As far as I know, Ballmer has never shared the stage, much less broken bread, with Jobs. When the MS/Apple relationship was at its rockiest a few years back, Ballmer wondered aloud whether Microsoft should still develop for the Mac. No love lost there, so I'd be shocked to see the two Steve's on stage. Then again, no expected Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz to cozy up to Michael Dell on stage at Oracle OpenWorld  last year, also at Moscone. Perhaps the tech version of San Francisco's famed Summer of Love is approaching.