Microsoft to Yahoo: You will be mine.

Microsoft Sends Letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors: Microsoft Sends Letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors:

If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board.

Technorati Tags: Business, Microsoft, Yahoo!

You only notice great UI when it's not there

Good article on the iPhone from The Times:

However, the shocking surprise is the web browser. The iPhone’s browser allows you magically to expand and shrink the pages you’re looking at with that funky iPhone touch interface. This is a really big deal. You can do this on photos of course, but no one, except Harrison Ford in Blade Runner, really needs to zoom in on photo details that often, although it’s a fun gimmick to demo to mates. You need to do it on web pages all the time when you’re peering at a small screen, and it’s brilliantly effective.

Actually, it's become a big deal for me in viewing photos too. My seven-year-old is always zooming in and out on the iPod touch to get a better view of people in pictures. A friend was showing me some photos on her Nokia N95 a couple of weeks ago, and I automatically tried to stretch the photo to get a better view before remembering that not all photo viewers work like that. It's remarkable that after about 6 months of owning the iPod touch this gesture has become hard-wired into my brain, and testament to how natural it is in the first place.

Technorati Tags: Design, gadgets, iPhone, iPod touch, Nokia, phones, technology, UI

Webomatica: I Deleted My FaceBook Account

And so it begins:

I Deleted My FaceBook Account:

It’s also just too popular for its own good. I reached a point where I was overwhelmed, spending time fending off emails with super pokes and vampires, resulting in blocking app behavior and ultimately deleting them. I was spending more time ignoring and preventing communication which is the opposite of what the site is supposed to be about. I didn’t feel enabled. I didn’t feel like I had any control. And most importantly: it wasn’t productive. Pretty much everything I did on Facebook was a just a huge waste of time.

Technorati Tags: broken, Facebook, Identity, Social Networks

Sony: PR people on Crack.

Anything I could say about this is just unnecessary.

Barcelona, Spain - 10th February 2008 -Today marked the launch of XPERIATM and a new era in mobile communications with the announcement of the XPERIA™ X1, a stand-out, arc slider phone from Sony Ericsson designed to address the growing need for a premium, converged mobile experience.

The XPERIATM X1 combines a 3-inch clear wide VGA display and a full QWERTY keyboard within a quality metal-finish body. With Windows Mobile® inside, the XPERIA™ X1 lets you choose from a dynamic range of activities at anytime and anywhere; from enjoying your favourite entertainment content to working efficiently on-the-move. Access a world of experiences simply by touching the XPERIA™ panel on the screen.

"XPERIA™ represents the first brand that is truly borne from within Sony Ericsson. It represents our vision for a premium, energised communication experience," said Dee Dutta, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson. "This launch, and the announcement of the X1, further strengthens the overall Sony Ericsson brand and places us at the forefront of mobile convergence."

(via Gizmodo)

Technorati Tags: branding, drugs, gadgets, Sony

My American Friends.

Ok there's an amount of good old American Cheese contained herein, it's too long (as a video, not as a speech), and it still might not help defeat the hillaryzilla. The message is spot on though, and it makes me wish I could vote in the US election. If you can, you know what you have to do.

Technorati Tags: Ads, Advertising, Music, politics, Transformative, YouTube

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

The HEMA - online winkelen is obviously a joke (though the folks at the Register don't seem to get it), but it's one of those jokes that might only be funny if you're Dutch. And a Web Designer. And on drugs. Or if you were a big fan of Mousetrap.

Technorati Tags: Design, Flash, humour, narcotics, Toys, Web

Portable Hotspot

JoikuSpot:

Connect your laptop to internet easily using your mobile phone's internet connection.

FREE
INSTANT
EASY
-- JoikuSpot is free
-- JoikuSpot turns Nokia Smartphone to a Wi-Fi HotSpot
-- 1-click SMS download from Joiku.com

JoikuSpot is software based, no hardware or cables needed.
Recommended use with unlimited mobile data plans.

I'd almost buy a N95 to use this. Maybe I should investigate a second-hand N80. Is there a small, wifi-equipped S60 phone that doesn't suck? I'd be leaving it in my bag as a hotspot for my iPod touch whatever.

Technorati Tags: gadgets, iPod touch, Nokia, phones, Wi-Fi, Software