Yahoo Getting Some Action

First of all, I'd like to express my deepest gratitude to Miami for handing Virginia Tech's ass to them and, thus, giving us an almost sure spot for the Rose Bowl. Unless pigs fly and Alabama dominates Auburn and LSU, of course. My title here is probably a little more exciting than it should be, but I like to see that Yahoo hasn't let itself become thrown to the backburner. The New York Times put up an article exploring the company's philosophy. They're pretty focused on the social searching aspect of being a web portal, meaning how smart their web applications get with each search you make to get you to where you need to be. Their strength is their enormous base, and that's how they can 1up Google. I feel that they're Yahoo! Maps beta, which I have just discovered, has already trumped Google Maps. If you haven't looked at it before then I highly recommend it because its features include: easy location of ATMs and restaurants and such (much like standalone application Google Earth), more accurate road names (I-35 shows up as I-35, not 81), traffic updates (I don't know if this works in Austin yet), multi-point directions (get directions from A to B to C), reverse directions or round trip directions with one click, and everything seems to go faster. The only drawback is no satellite imagery as of yet, but it's still pretty cool.



Does that logo look familiar to you? Actually, it didn't to me either, but it's actual the logo for the Xbox 360 and it's strikingly similar to the old Dreamcast logo. And that's only #9 on 1up.com's list of uncanny similarities between the two consoles, but it also provides reasons why it has better chances than Sega's sad story. The only thing that impresses me more than the PS3 so far is the controller, but anyway, that article is a must-read if you're a gamer. Rumors have it that Apple may release a 13-inch iBook and a new line of widescreen, Intel-based PowerBooks early next year. Everything is always top secret at Apple, of course, but it would be a nice surprise. Amazon.com has plans to unveil a service that would allow you to buy pages of a book separately for digital use rather than whole book in case you want just a recipe or something. It sounds interesting, but will people really go for it? I don't think I would; I like a hard, bound copy. Lastly, Microsoft's Live service will have some competition real soon with small firm Transmedia set to release their Glide suite later this month that does all that Live does and more, but more seamlessly integrated together into a browser. If that takes off just remember that you read it here first.

I can't believed that Chicken Little managed to get top billing this weekend in the box office. Did anyone see that coming? It made an astounding $40.1 million to beat out Jarhead, which still made a healthy $28.8 million. This is Disney's first animated feature since the divorce with Pixar if I'm not mistaken so I'm sure that they're getting pretty cocky now despite the movie's pitiful reviews. Sony has finally confirmed that Thomas Hayden Church will, indeed, play the Sandman in Spider-man 3. There, now was that so hard to do, Sony? Isn't that easier than trying to keep it a secret for no good reason? I don't know how Latino Review keeps getting these scripts, but they now have a review for Halo and it sounds better than we could've ever imagined. So now we know that if it sucks, it isn't the writer's fault. The new Harry Potter movie is just around the corner and Groover at AICN gave it a favorable review despite some supposedly lame humor. I'm sure that you fans will be more interested in this video that Warner Brothers put up from the premiere this past weekend, but beware that your volume isn't too loud for Mr. Weasley's or Mr. Potter's entrance because the screams may break any glass around you.

Now for some Unconscious Mutterings, per tradition:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Deeper and deeper::Office Space
   
2. CanÂ’t help .... ::falling in love with you
   
3. DevilÂ’s advocate::Satan
   
4. Superpower::Superman
   
5. Threatening::Scary
   
6. Played::Worn-out
   
7. War::Card game
   
8. Violate::Own
   
9. Invest::Divest
   
10. Choke::Heimlech (sp?)