Personal Reflections – Page 150

Derek’s new look website

Derek o’ Brien‘s website had a pretty pathetic look earlier I must say, but when I checked it again today I was in for a shock! It actually looks good, offers information and all, and I even love the flash header, something, which I generally don’t say. If you’d seen the earlier one, you’d agree that is hardly gave any info on the company, and the new one is a refreshing change from that. However, I visited KQScore.com too after that, one of my favorite quizzing sites in early days with much anticipation after that, but I was disappointed to see it totally inaccessible now.

One thing intrigues me – why has he disowned all books by him not published by Penguin? I know they are his new publishers, but then that doesn’t mean he should ignore some of the most amazing books released independently by him like Derek o’ Brien’s First Book of 1000 Questions.

If you’re wondering why this sudden fascination with Derek’s site today, just watch out for this space tomorrow… 😉

Yahoo 360 opens up

Finally! Yahoo 360 is now open for all, even people below 18 years (or was I the Chosen One?). I wanted to use it as my blogging service for a long time, but people with ID dates below 18 years of age weren’t allowed then, In fact, I held off blogging using Blogger for a long time, hoping it would open up soon. Alas, Y360 has opened bit to late, and I don’t think I can shift after 275 posts here. Either way, Y360 doesn’t have an import option (neither does Blogger, so no need for Googlers to snigger :P).

It’s still in beta, and I just loved it. It’s built to be a social networking AND a blogging service. I was a bit skeptical as to how the interface would look like, but they’ve done well. And no boring templates, you can even make your own! I’ve always said Yahoo’s WYSIWYG editor is better than Blogger’s, and that’s a big plus. It also has view restriction settings and tagging, allowing you to make sections public or restricted to friends, and that was a LONG time back when Blogger hadn’t even thought of it. Plus, the Blogger team itself has admitted they suck.

It’s look is definitely more refreshing. I’ve browsed other people’s Y360 blogs earlier, and I like its features. And there comes the power of the Yahoo ID – almost everybody has one. There are far more Yahoo users than you can EVER come across on Orkut or Blogger (using a Google Account). Y360 is definitely a BETTER way to stay connected because of this reach it has.

The sad part – I’d have shifted, but it may be too risky to lose readers. Plus, as I said, no import option. The day Y360 adds that feature, I’m leaving Blogger, forever…