I guess the 21st-Century workplace is defined by different success measures, so I'm hoping that my ability to take my Outlook Inbox down from 50+ messages this morning to about 15 is noted on any upcoming performance reviews. Sisyphus had his own way of spending eternity, and I have mine, apparently.

Out of the Inbox mess, however, did come a couple of announcements are are worth mentioning:

• I've been wondering what the HD-PLC folks have been up to, because frankly it seems that the powerline space had come down to either HomePlug or the DS2 solution. However, an e-mail from Audiox/Acoustic Research today indicates that we can expect to hear some product news shortly. The company had announced plans to use HD-PLC in a press release from the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show.

• ZeroG Wireless, which develops low-power Wi-Fi solutions, has received $17 million in funding, according to a release today. The company indicates that it is looking well beyond the laptop and router market to create a market for "an Internet of things."