Posts from January 2007

Technorati launched a new search annotation feature today, letting site members briefly explain the rising popularity of a keyword or phrase. The original idea for Technorati WTF came from a few Technorati super fans and an internal hack day over a year ago. Backstory Technorati's top searches have always been a good way to track popular news themes of the moment. Top searches against a blog search engine often correlate with the news and information the blogosphere is hunting for at any given time. If a web hosting company was offline for an extended period of time, you'd start seeing...

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Earlier tonight I attended a Windows Vista launch event in San Francisco and was surprised to find not a single person in line to buy the software less than an hour before launch. CompUSA stayed open late to provide hands-on demonstrations of Microsoft's new Windows Vista and Office 2007 but for most people I talked to in the store the event was a learning experience and a chance for some special sales and discounts. When I left about 45 minutes before Vista officially went on sale to consumers there were no eager customers ready for launch. Potential customers picked...

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The migration of popular computing applications to the Web has changed the way we view the web browser. Some of our most frequently used applications now exist within a tab of Firefox or Internet Explorer, constantly polling a remote server on our behalf and presenting the results in a rich interface powered by the latest features of JavaScript and/or the Flash Player plugin. These "live" web applications have pushed the browser to its limits (and sometimes beyond), consuming increasing amounts of memory and network bandwidth as our browser terminal remains connected to the data cloud. Storing data and preferences directly...

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If you walk into any of Google's 500 bathroom stalls you might notice some Python on the walls. Google places tips for its developers above every urinal and bathroom stall to help expounding the virtues of well-tested code, helping a Google engineer stay productive even when nature calls. Google is releasing its "Testing on the Toilet" series on a new testing blog under a Creative Commons license, so now anyone can decorate their bathroom walls to look just like Google. No, it's not a April Fools joke, Google really does promote 100% coverage in its bathroom stalls....

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Modern web APIs embrace the self-publishing tinkerer, making integration an easy step for a variety of web publishers. A few lines of HTML and a quick copy and paste of some JavaScript might be all a publisher needs to add new functionality to their site or roll out a completely new feature. I think the most successful developer programs will offer resources for the tinkerers as well as the developers, extending their reach and developer base beyond those with a knowledge of post versus get. The Google Gadgets getting started guide walks would-be gadget makers through the process of creating...

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SF Tech Sessions is back after a brief holiday break! This month's theme is gadgets connecting people on the move, downloading relevant information and sharing new information with others through cellular and open WiFi networks. I've chosen three startups (two launched within the last 6 months) who are well on their way to changing an existing well-proven category with network smarts. This month's SF Tech Session, Connected mobile gadgets, takes place this Thursday, January 18, from 7-9 p.m. at CNET in San Francisco. Recent Best of CES winners Dash Navogation , Zing Systems, and OQO will present their approach to...

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David Beckham will leave Real Madrid and join the Los Angeles Galaxy in July. Beyond the pure salary and bonus structure, the United States provides lucrative corporate sponsorship opportunities. The world does not only want to bend it like Beckham, they want to shave like him, use his cell phone, and have the entire Beckham lifestyle. The David Beckham Academy will also take advantage of one of the world's largest youth soccer programs....

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Today marked the end of Apple Computer after 30 years. The company has come a long way from kit computers assembled in a garage, capitalizing on at least one eureka moment a decade that causes people to rethink the intersection of cutting edge hardware and software. The release of the Mac in 1984 combined the best available hardware with commercial software utilizing the best ideas developed at Apple and research labs such as Xerox PARC. The release of the iMac in 1998 changed consumer views on personal computing, adding a colorful and quiet device to our desktops, placing an...

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Sony's latest HDTVs will support an optional component capable of streaming Internet video and downloading content defined using RSS syndication. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link is a small optional module attached to the back of your HDTV and connected to your home broadband network over Ethernet. Price and availability are still unannounced, but the first televisions supporting the new module will be available this Spring. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link operates independently without the need for a separate gateway computer on your network. It uses the Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface already present on a PSP to browse feed...

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I am organizing a dinner for Mac small business owners and developers on Wednesday, January 10, at Chaat Cafe in San Francisco starting at 6:30 p.m. Next week's dinner extends the tradition of MacSB meetings held during each year's Macworld and WWDC conferences in San Francisco, bringing together small software businesses within the Mac developer ecosystem to meet face-to-face, reflect on Apple announcements, and share tips and war stories. Chaat Cafe is located at 320 3rd Street (corner of 3rd and Folsom) in downtown San Francisco, one block from Macworld and the Moscone conference center. The restaurant has free WiFi...

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