Just wondering... What must going through the heads of Jerry Yang and David Filo.  You know, the guys that founded Yahoo.  There was a time when we all thought Yahoo was really cool.  It was absolutely the most efficient way to find really good information on the Web.

I rarely visit Yahoo anymore.  Sometimes I go to Yahoo just to see what it's like at the present time, hoping that maybe it has reversed course and could once again become the Yahoo that we all knew and loved, although I know that will never happen.  What I find are just pop-up ads, sponsorsed links, and blinky banners, which only serve to make the useful information that much harder to find.  Does anyone pay attention to banner ads or pop-up ads?

And poor Jerry and David.  Their company has been taken over.  Okay, well, well they aren't really poor.

8:41:43 PM   

Microsoft dumps HailStorm This is reported today in the New York Times. I'm sure similar stories will appear very soon in many other web sites.

Microsoft is still thinking about licensing the software to corporations, who could use it for their own networks.  There is a problem with this.  If a vulnerability is found in the software, that means all deployments of the software are at risk.  Multiple implementations of a technology is a very good thing from a security point of view, though perhaps not from an economic point of view.

What makes more sense to me, though, would be a service where third party plug-ins could be purchased and installed into a standard personal application server.  This sounds a lot like HTTP/CGI/Servlets doesn't it?  For accessible address books, email, file storage, etc why not a personal application server?  Most users have quite powerful computers that could easily pull the load of a personal application server.  For users with always-on Internet access, they could host the personal application server on their own computer.  For other users, including those with always-on Internet connections who want managed service, there could be hosting providers that offer the service.  Think of it as a Personal HailStorm, where you have the choice of software you want to install, and hopefully even a choice of service providers and third-party plug-in vendors.

11:40:43 AM