Last Saturday night was Earth Hour. Organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 2007, Earth Hour encourages people and businesses to turn off lights and non-essential electronics to raise awareness about climate change.

Since 2007 the Earth Hour movement has spread throughout the world to include over 1,000 cities including Minneapolis. Though – I have to say, in my humble opinion, the word didn’t really get out beyond the Wedge coop member, counter-culture types (guess where I shop).
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The traveling Star Wars exhibit “Star Wars — Where Science Meets Imagination” has finally come to Minnesota. I had the opportunity to check it out, and I can say it certainly lives up to the hype.

Patrons are invited to view original movie costumes and props, examine the incredible detail of model ships, watch exclusive behind the scenes clips, meet storm troopers, and even climb into the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit for the jump to light speed.

To get a small glimpse of what’s in store for you, see my photos above. I used Wonderfile’s tag sharing feature to create the interactive slide show. To start making and sharing your own slide shows for free, sign up for Wonderfile.

Local software / tech pioneer and serial entrepreneur Dan Grigsby makes a compelling case about the depth and value of Minnesota’s contribution to the software industry. According to Dan, Minnesota has a quietly innovative and expert software development work force – with major players opening development offices here like Microsoft, Oracle, etc. Dan states that Minnesotans can get the work done for about half of what it costs on the coasts (I don’t know if it’s half, but I’d agree that there is probably a steep discount).

With the weaker dollar (and even without) does it make sense for coastal businesses to outsource software development to the Midwest? Is Minnesota ready to capitalize on this movement? Are we ready to support and assist software entrepreneurs and truly foster the software industry in MN?

No, we’re not. I have not been impressed with local associations or any state agency sponsored effort to promote our software industry.

If you look closely at where future innovation and good jobs will be had in the 21st century – you’ve got to bet on the Internet and software. Yet Minnesota does not have an organization dedicated soley to moving software ahead. This has got to change.

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Remember two or three years ago? Before Britney got fat, the dollar tanked, and the iPhone was only an Apple fanboy’s wildest dream? Back then urban computer nerds were promised fast, cheap, wireless Internet access courtesy of their good friends at the government.

I am, of course, talking about municipal Wi-Fi. In my fair city of Minneapolis things are under way with US Internet. Although I can’t sign up for it yet, the fledgling networking proved critical in the bridge disaster response.

Other cities are not having as much luck. Various explanations exists for the failure of municipal Wi-Fi, and even Google seems to be unable to pull of this feat. I believe the final nail in Wi-Fi’s coffin will be driven by 3G.

I have a Treo 700p on Sprints 3G network, and enjoy DSL like speeds throughout the city, and even in Wisconsin Dells. Why would I bother with Wi-Fi, when my phone gives me lighting fast access to email, and can even be used to connect my laptop to the Internet?

As cell speeds increase, and cities struggle with Wi-Fi, more and more people will discover they don’t need municipal Wi-Fi. Poor Wi-Fi (sniff), we hardly knew ye.