Thursday, May 3, 2007

Yahoo! Web-based Messenger - better late than never

Finally Yahoo has come up with a better web-based messenger. This should have been done long time back when Google started integrating gtalk on the web in every means it would - Gtalk is intergrated with gmail, google personalized home page as a gadget and finally you can add their gadget to any page that you might want.

Of course right now gtalk is not used for any kind of revenue generation. Whereas yahoo web messenger screen shows Ads once you've logged in.

All said and done, you have one more PC-based application available in a web-based form. The whole world seems to be moving towards web-based applications!! :)







Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Windows Live Writer lost its gas ??!!

It has been 10 months since I wrote my detailed review on Windows Live Writer. Though I liked the Windows Live Writer a lot then, I never really used it for blogging actively.

After so many months, I thought I wanted to use Windows Live Writer for one very lengthy and comprehensive review of something on the web (not going to tell you what it was about :) You will have to wait to see that blog). Blogging a lengthy post staying online would take lot of time. I thought using Windows Live Writer, I could blog as and when I find time and then publish it in one shot.

But then I just remembered that my PC was reinstalled with Window XP once and I had not installed Windows Live Writer since then. So went about searching for "Windows Live Writer" on Google and came across this official blog cum home page for Windows Live Writer. I believe this is being maintained by the developers of Windows Live Writer.

Having been away from Windows Live Writer for so long I was really curious to know what was happening to this blogging client. So I clicked on this link to see their posts. To my surprise, since November 2006 there has been not a single post in their "OFFICIAL BLOG" :)

Has Microsoft realized that blogging client is by no means generating money for them. Whatever be the reason, one thing is for sure - Windows Live Writer has lost its gas and I believe you are not going to see any more releases of Windows Live Writer.

Windows Live Writer.... RIP!!

Google Personalized Home Page branded as iGoogle

Hmm.. Interesting to see that Google has decided to brand its personalized home page offering as iGoogle.

The need for branding definitely shows the kind of traffic that has starting using the personalized web page feature. I personally use the personalized home page feature for all my needs and it has the following web-based widgets or gadgets in it - gtalk, bookmarks, timezone, clock, to-do, calendar, news feeds, etc.. The list of tools goes on and on in my personalized home page.. ahhmm i mean iGoogle :).

All that is fine.. but why are corporates obsessed with appending the letter "i" before one of their established brand names (iMac, iPhone, iTv and now iGoogle). Guys at google.. you are innovative and why do you want to lose out on the naming front :(.