Note: This column represents the opinions
of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
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It was only a few short years ago that Yahoo! was the undisputed king of
the web.
Although it started life as a simple web directory/search-engine,
it soon expanded to include such things as free email, online shopping,
auctions, etc. As the value of Yahoo stock grew, it even began acquiring
other online properties (such as eGroups and GeoCities) in order to further
increase its scope and size.
However, I would wager that Yahoo's days at the top are very much numbered
and the new king looks like it will be Google.
Not only is Google getting ready to roll out
a free email service with 1GB
of storage that will leave Yahoo wondering how it's going to sell
its own 100MB mailboxes
for $49.95 a year, but it's also making some interesting moves in other areas as well.
The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project
Yes, at last, this feature
has been updated again! (31 Mar 2003)
Certainly Google has already eclipsed Yahoo's core offering (its somewhat
limited and outdated web directory/search-engine) and now it would appear that
it is about to mount a damned fine challenge to the
Yahoo Groups
mailing-list/webboard service.
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Configured as an extension to its existing very useful
usenet newsgroup service,
the new
Google Groups 2
adds the ability for users to create their own groups, just like they can over
at Yahoo.
The Yahoo-killer feature however is the way that Google serves up its ads.
Virtually nobody I know who subscribes to the Yahoo service ever bothers to
use the web-based interface due to the outrageously intrusive nature of the
ads. Not only does Yahoo hit you with a 300x250 pixel ad on each and every
page but it also drops in a full-page interstitial ad every few pages.
Even those accessing Yahoo's service by email find irritatingly large ads
tacked on the bottom of each message.
If Google's equivalent service sticks with its current low-key approach to
ad-serving then I expect Yahoo to feel a heavy hit.
Goggle's aggressive moves into new areas currently dominated by Yahoo
does not bode well for the current king's
stated objective
of increasing by 50 percent, the number of Net users who pay money for some of its services.
Although Yahoo has been a good stock in terms of earnings and value, I think
that if I were sitting on a big pile of their shares -- I'd be looking
to cash-out pretty soon.
The Berg Video
I could not believe my ears last night when I heard on the TV1's late news
that some schools in the USA are using the full Berg video as part of their
courseware right now.
As pointed out in yesterday's column, any school attempting this in NZ
would likely be prosecuted by the Department of Internal Affairs and those
responsible could face a prison term.
Lighten Up
Time for some mirth and perhaps a little mayhem too.
The children's programme Rainbow became something of an institution on
UK TV, entertaining young children for years. However, I guess the strain
of dishing up material designed for 2-6 year-olds eventually got too much
for them, as this Flash video
demonstrates.
When a website becomes so popular that it's server can't keep up with the
demand for traffic, it's quite common for a mirror site to be put up.
Well it seems that even
Google has traffic problems
these days.
Keep those links and suggestions coming folks!
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