Yahoo! News January 6, 2006
Posted by rwestervelt in Helpful Sites, Journalism.add a comment
Yahoo has an excellent blog coverage page of the Consumer Electronics Show, running this week in Las Vegas. An excellent news roundup page brings together wire stories, blog posts, columns, video, and feature stories from online publications in a neatly organized package. I’m also discovering their news site, which is very intuitive in that you can just put your curser over a headline and get a short summary of the story with a photo. Nice.
I know someone who is involved editorially with Yahoo! News and from what I understand, unlike Google news, there are a number human beings involved in the process. It will be interesting to see whether humans can beat Google’s computer algorithms in creating a useful, creative and efficient news page. Is news gathering for users strictly confined to searches or do users want a news page landing to scan the top stories before conducting a search for news they want?
New Site Addresses Music File Frustrations January 4, 2006
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A new music storage backup service called Oboe could be the answer to common digital music frustrations. The site, started by former mp3.com founder and CEO, Michael Robertson, provides a storage service to users and allows them to listen to their music on any computer or device. It is iTunes friendly. (I’m not a big fan of iTunes, but its popularity should be a boon to the fledgling service.) The service is easy to use in that it automatically searches the user’s hard drive for music files and uploads them into an account. I haven’t had a chance to test the service yet. I’ll update when I have some feedback.
TechnologyReview.com has a good story describing the site and comparing it to Real Networks Rhapsody.com service.
Widgets in 2006 December 22, 2005
Posted by rwestervelt in Helpful Sites.2 comments
I’ve been passively testing out the Goowy desktop, which combines e-mail, games, and RSS into a desktop-like client through the use of desktop widgets. I think the technology has potential to be the future of desktop management. The next version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista, will have desktop widget support. For example, a tiny widget in the corner of your screen would contain information on local weather conditions, while another widget displays updated news stories in real time, and yet another could show your e-mail inbox. The downside is a cluttered and chaotic desktop environment. We’ll hear a lot more about this technology in 2006.
Site helps in house hunting … December 15, 2005
Posted by rwestervelt in Helpful Sites.3 comments
Microsoft is outdoing Google in its satellite map imagery. This new site, Windows Live Local, gives users a “birds eye view� and gets closer than I’ve ever seen before. There is definitely a wow factor here. The view is breathtaking. I read a story about Mapquest developers dismissing the use of satellite imagery, calling it fun but not useful for users. Mapquest had satellite imagery available at one time, but took it down. I think they overlooked some important uses.
My wife and I will be looking for a home in the next six months. So far, I’ve used Windows Live Local to get a “birds eye view� of the houses on the market and their immediate neighborhood. I’ve crossed out many homes based on the overhead view in Windows Live Local – a waste transfer station nearby, crossed off, a highway just a few hundred feet away, crossed off, a gas station next door, see ya!
Here is a view of the Statue of Liberty.
New way to get news … December 15, 2005
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This new site, Wikinews, could be the way we get our news in the future. Apparently this site had the first reports of a major explosion and fire at an oil facility in London recently. How will this affect how we get our news? Reporters to the site will likely be untrained in ethics, fail to know the proper use of sourcing information and will generally be posting gossip or second hand information, I suspect. Am I skeptical? You bet. But this is another facet of the Internet that could further shrink the type of journalism you can trust. I believe we could be walking a fine line. Will readers rely on blogs and wikinews.org to get their information or will they turn to various sources, including major news gathering organizations that give more sides of the story? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Check That Holiday Donation December 1, 2005
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In lieu of gifts during the holiday season, last year, my wife and I decided to send donations to organizations in the name of our parents and some of our friends. As the holidays are again upon us, it prompted me to think: How worthy are these organizations of getting a donation?
I recently got a mailing from the Netherland-America Foundation asking me for a $100 donation to become a “Friend.” Always suspicious of these groups, I found an interesting Web site that could help determine how well a charity does its business. Is the CEO getting paid too much? How much money goes to administrative expenses?
These questions can be answered by the folks at Charity Navigator, an interesting site that makes it easy to check on an organization you’re thinking of sending your hard earned cash.
Oh, yes, the Netherland-America Foundation was rated about average, according to the site, which provides ratings based on the organization’s recent IRS filings. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my Dutch, Italian, and Irish heritage, but I’m not sure I’m ready to dole out $100 to an organization I have barely heard of.
