Top Items:
John Markoff / New York Times:
Is Microsoft Dropping Cryptic Hints About a New Gadget? — SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26 — A cryptic Web site that was set up by Microsoft but does not bear its name appears to hint that the company will reveal information about a new consumer product on Thursday.
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Todd Bishop / Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog …:
Portable 'Halo,' and other 'Origami' concepts — "Halo" on Microsoft's Origami concept device, in a screen shot from a video that the company says reflects its initial thinking from a year ago, not necessarily a final result. (Digital Kitchen video) — Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog @ SeattlePI.com
Kent / Newsome.Org:
Origami: Will it Walk the Walk? — I tried hard not to write about the latest rumor craze in the blogosphere, I really did. But I failed. — I failed because it's starting to dawn on me that, notwithstanding the dazed and confused manner in which Office Live was ramped up and released, Microsoft may actually have a marketing plan.
Scobleizer / Microsoft Geek Blogger:
The danger of not letting your bloggers know... (more Origamisms) — What's the danger of not letting your internal bloggers know about your product release plans? They might not be able to help keep your announcements in proper perspective. But, that's OK.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Edgeio Launches, Finally — So much has been written about Edgeio, that it is hard to add anything new to the conversation. The big news is that, it has finally gone live. Go try it out for yourself. — Edgeio is a company co-founded byMike Arrington, who writes the influential Web 2.0 blog …
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Keith Teare / edgeio corporation:
edgeio has gone live — Just a heads up to those of you who have been helping us during the preview phase of edgeio. — Tonight (Sunday 26 Febrary 2006) at midnight Pacific time we removed the password from edgeio and it is available, worldwide, for all users. — Om Malik was the first to post about this.
Russ / Russell Beattie Notebook:
WTF 2.0 — The worst thing about all the Web 2.0 hype is the complete loss of business perspective. There's a few companies out there that seem to get it but just about every other new website I've seen lately is nothing but features parading as businesses.
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Jason Fry / Wall Street Journal:
Blog Epitaphs? Get Me Rewrite! — Rumors of Blogs' Demise Are Exaggerated, — But a Lot Less Obsession Would Be Healthy — Maybe you've heard: Blogs are a vanishing fad — this year's digital Pet Rock. Or a business bubble about to pop. Or a sucker's bet for new-media fame seekers.
microsoft.com:
Microsoft Unveils Windows Vista Product Lineup — Offerings deliver unique value across business and consumer audiences. — REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 26, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the product lineup of its upcoming Windows Vista™ operating system.
Discussion:
InsideMicrosoft
Telegraph:
A very fruity sauvignon blog — Robert Watts explains how clever use of the internet has fired sales of a South African winery — Deep in the South African fynbos or bush lies the Doolhof valley, a remote place that takes its name from the Afrikaans for labyrinth.
Chris Sherman / Search Engine Watch:
Ask Looses Jeeves, Gains New Features — The butler has gone into retirement, and Ask.com now sports a crisp new look with a number of impressive new features. — As I reported last week, the Jeeves character has officially been retired in an effort at rebranding the search engine …
Fred / A VC:
PersonalDNA - A Cool New Web Service — Have you ever taken a "Myers-Briggs" personality study? It's enlightening for sure, but takes a long time to complete and isn't very interactive. I'd love to have the ability to look at someone's personality profile before hiring them …
Matt Marshall / Mercury News:
Ethanol in the spotlight — With the nation seeking ways to clean up the environment and reduce dependence on foreign oil, ethanol is suddenly getting fresh buzz. — Ethanol, a fuel made out of crops like corn and sugar, shows promise because it produces fewer greenhouse gases than gasoline …
Reuters:
Germany's Magix considers IPO in first-half 2006 — FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German software firm Magix is considering an initial public offering of shares in the first half of the year to fund expansion, it said, which could be one of the first larger market debuts in Germany this year.
James Gross / The Story of Feedster:
Full Text Feeds — There has been a lot of conversation in the blog world about full text feeds vs. partial text feeds. The main issue seems to be the overall ability of a publisher to monetize people reading their content, and some publishers feel that full text feed syndication is not the best solution for generating ad revenue.
David Chappell:
Making Loose Coupling Real: The Need for Interoperable Queued Messaging — Assertions that web services are loosely coupled have always rung hollow to me. Everyone seems to have a unique view of what loose coupling means, although rigorous definitions are scarce.