Yahoo & a Keyboard
Yahoo just bought Konfabulator. It looks like it’s going to be awesome; according to the developers Yahoo will provide easily-programmed access to just about information they have access to (which is almost everything ever). And planning versions for “Cell Phones, Linux, and even TiVo.” Now’s the time to brush up the XML and JavaScript skills.
It’s also not long since Yahoo purchased Flickr. They have some cool technologies to play with now. Maybe I’ll move to Mountain View in November.
And speaking of cool technologies, the Optimus Keyboard is gonna rock your socks. Just click the link.
August 1st, 2005 at 5:04 PM
Konfab is similar to Tiger Widgets; it’s where Apple got the inspiration. I haven’t looked into Widget development, but I get the impression Konfab is easier – simple XML structure with Javascript code (with some extensions for scraping info from websites), and bundled resources. What’s sweet is that Yahoo is developing an open API for all their search services, so soon there will be simple commands to get info on directions, weather, flickr photos, etc, etc.
Orthogonally, I think the major search engines are going the opposite ways now. Google is asking everyone to make an account with them and Yahoo is investing in open technologies… really, I think they’re both just becoming more similar in order to compete with each other (y’know, how Win 3 and MacOS 7 have become more and more similar until XP and X).
Personally I have a love-hate thing with both companies because of the amount of personal info they probably have on me (even without a Google account, if you access the search from the same/similar IP regularly, I’ll bet they notice and keep track, and the privacy statements don’t limit what they can do with all that info internally).
December 14th, 2005 at 12:14 AM
[…] What happened? Did their management get taken over by someone who cares about marketing? Yep, a quick click to their blog reveals that Yahoo! snatched’em up. Makes sense; they’re already doing exactly what Yahoo has publicly stated is their strategy for MyWeb 2.0 — rather than having Google (or Yahoo) tell you what’s good on the internet, ask your friends. Also not surprising given their ties with Flickr, which Yahoo grabbed earlier this year. […]