...from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/technology/20yahoo.html?th&emc=th
By MIGUEL HELFT and STEVE LOHR
Published: November 20, 2006
A consortium of seven newspaper chains representing 176 daily papers
across the country is announcing a broad partnership with Yahoo to
share content, advertising and technology, another sign that the wary
newspaper business is increasingly willing to shake hands with the
technology companies they once saw as a threat.
In the first phase of the deal, the newspaper companies will begin
posting their employment classified ads on Yahoo’s classified jobs
site, HotJobs, and start using HotJobs technology to run their own
online career ads.
But the long-term goal of the alliance with Yahoo, according to one
senior executive at a participating newspaper company, is to be able
to have the content of these newspapers tagged and optimized for
searching and indexing by Yahoo.
In that way, local news — one of the pillars of the newspaper
business — would become part of a large information network that
would increase usefulness for readers and value to advertisers.
[...]
The agreement could also come at an opportune time for Yahoo, which
is seeking to regain the confidence of investors and the luster it
has lost with some marketers.
The deal could also help position the company as a willing partner
for traditional media companies, an effective counterpunch to a deal
its archrival, Google, signed with 50 papers a few weeks ago, and
could help it capture a larger portion of the fragmented local
advertising market.
For the newspapers, which have struggled in recent years as readers
and advertisers have flocked to the Internet, the deal represents an
effort to earn a greater share of the fast-growing amount spent
online on all types of ads
[...]
...from:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?
command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003672&pageNumber=1
Lots of bling make Vista eye-candy, but function doesn't always
follow form
September 27, 2006 (Computerworld) -- Earlier this month, when I
found I could install Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) on my
MacBook Pro, I quickly took the plunge, practically chortling at the
thought that my dual-core laptop could run Microsoft's next operating
system. What better way to show that when you buy a Mac you get two
computers in one?
I've been using Vista off and on for a couple of weeks now, but I'm
not chortling as much.
The MacBook Pro is fine. Yes, it runs hotter than normal on Vista,
and battery life is greatly reduced. That's no surprise. Vista isn't
exactly optimized for Mac use, and the drivers that Apple supplies
with its Boot Camp software don't work in Microsoft's upcoming
operating system. (I had to install a small third-party app, Apple
Mouse, to enable a right-click function in Vista on the Macbook Pro.)
I'm assuming that by the time Vista is out, Apple will be ready. And
with the exception of a few such glitches along the way, Vista RC1
(Build 5600) has been generally stable: No blue screens of death, no
untoward infections that I'm aware of. A lot of applications I use
regularly -- the Firefox browser, iTunes, Quicktime -- work just fine
in Vista.
[...]
They'll also likely be delighted by the fact that Microsoft has
slammed the door on some of the more glaring security holes that have
plagued XP users for years. The inclusion of Windows Defender to help
keep malware at bay will be welcomed by users. But I doubt they'll be
nearly as content with the way Vista constantly reminds you that
you're safe. I'm talking here, of course, about UAC, which a number
of Vista reviewers, including Computerworld's own Scot Finnie, have
already criticized for its intrusiveness.
[...]
I see the same issue -- good idea, so-so implementation -- with
Internet Explorer 7. One of the biggest advances touted in
Microsoft's long-overdue update to its Web browser is the addition of
tabs. I use tabs daily, constantly shifting back and forth between
Web pages. In fact, the easiest way for me to scan a large number of
sites quickly is to launch a folder of URLs, with each one opening up
in its own tab. IE7 lets you open links in a tab, to [...]. After
configuring the confusing user interface Microsoft has slapped on its
browser, you can add a folder of links to the links toolbar, just as
you can with Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox and a host of other
browsers.
[...]
So if I turn off UAC, ignore the sidebar gadgets and skip IE7, what
am I left with in Vista? A new operating system that is more secure
than its predecessor, looks great on the surface and no doubt has a
plethora of under-the-hood changes, but one that leaves the casual
user frequently frustrated. I joked with a Computerworld colleague
that I'd wrap up my report by noting that users who like Windows XP
will love Vista.
Noting the various issues Vista presents, he shot back: "Don't be so
sure."
