Yahoo! Tech! debuts! (and DIY drive-in)

Drive thru to the IT Blogwatch window, in which Yahoo Tech pops up. Not to mention how to build your own mobile drive-in movie theater...

Yahoo Tech -- a moron's guide to gadgets, according to Philip Letts: "Yahoo has just launched their first new content site in 5 years called Yahoo Tech, which, surprise surprise is designed to assist any tech moron on the planet (i.e. most of us!) to choose and use the huge number of necessary consumer gadgets available on the market today -- from PC's to TV's to networks and cell phones ... user friendly site and one that focuses heavily on user top rated (at least top 5) gadgets ... Yahoo looks to be onto something with this new content site -- and they are filling a useful gap ... The world's average consumer needs a trusted site to tell them which are the leading devices to focus on when buying gadgets. Utlimately it will all come down to trust - i.e. are their reviews and favorites really the 'best' ... the content all comes from leading gadget publications. The only original content comes from Yahoo users and their blogs."

» Staci: "Some initial observations given that the site is supposed to be a step forward ... and has been in the works for at least a year. Patrick Houston moved to Yahoo from CNET to head the site and his background shows in the pragmatic approach ... A personalized My Tech space that could be compared to a stock tracker ... A product 'cloud' at the top of the page ... An advisor sections with, well, advice about how to use gadgets, software, hardware ... A 'stuff I own' option ... The launch front includes a  promo for 'Hook Me Up,' a chance to have a makeover team update your gear ... Gives Yahoo denizens a destination and some nifty features but wouldn’t be the first stop for CNET vets. Then again, I’m not sure it’s meant to be."

» Steve Bryant: "The site provides info on products in 18 categories (CNET has 23), including cell phones, laptops, video players ... Richard McManus on Read/Write Web notes that the site's tech advisors ... are a bit hokey ... I don't know that I can trust the editors' opinions ... tech.yahoo does have one thing CNET doesn't: simplicity ... Yahoo looks a lot more accessible than on CNET. Maybe it's just me ... Google could never do this sort of site. Never. Google would over-engineer and make it soulless ... I think Yahoo's approach -- to make technology more emotionally available (ack!) -- is a winner with consumers ... Meanwhile, Steve Rubel wonders why Yahoo's blog tool, Yahoo 360, isn't involved ... And Steve points to AdAge's article, which says, among other things, that online consumers spend $953M online for technology products. Hello Dolly!"

» Om Malik has a different view: "Yahoo’s site is shiny and pretty, and has cool graphics, and yet, I somehow get the feeling that it resembles one big advertorial. It is a typical Yahoo play - aggregate content from other sources" Comments include Gerald Buckley: "I was furiously trying to close the annoying ad. So, yeah, I totally agree… just an ad play." Another from JLee: "Yahoo’s Tech site looks a bit too cluttered with junky ads. Looking at it gives me an eyesore and makes me want to close the browser. Repeat after me… less is more, less is more…"

» Lifehacker advises: "Rate and review tech products listed by tag, and subscribe and comment on daily blog posts by 'advisors' (smells like About.com guides) cast as demographic representatives, ie, the 'working guy,' the hipster chick, the baby boomer, and the wired Mom ... I love Yahoo! just as much as the next geek, but in my opinion? They should stick to building tools and leave the content creation to the rest of the Interwebs." To which Chris Brogan commented: "I never thought I'd say, 'Hey Yahoo! Tech is much cleaner, more organized, and easier to use than c|net's site.' ... When I go to c|net, I always feel like it's 1997 still."

» Mashable's opinion: "Taking a more than a little inspiration from existing social software and Web 2.0 design, it’s a fairly attractive site ... It comes complete with tagging, rating, saved items and - yes! -- rounded corners [one of Web 2.0's essentials] ... They’re also employing a team of “advisors” to write blogs on tech topics. Unfortunately, the content isn’t that great."

Buffer overflow:

• Richi Jennings: Blue Security "do not email list" compromised? No!
• John Murrell: Google tries to rattle Microsoft over default line
• Techdirt: Why Aren't People Complaining About New Data Retention Plans?
• Michael Arrington: SalesGenius Launches: Track Sales Leads
• Dana Epp: Understanding the value of Vista's Firewall and outbound filtering
• Jono Bacon: The Increasing Importance of Community
• Geertjan: The Best Feature Of The Upcoming NetBeans IDE 5.5 (Part 2)
• Luis Suarez: 5 Steps Toward Better Collaboration
• Bob Sutor: How do you share documents?
• Alex Scoble: Sony SXRD, HDTV and 1080
• Frank Hayes: CrackBerry: Back to Court
• C.J. Kelly: The future of computer science
• Martin McKeay: More on personal disaster recovery
• Robert L. Mitchell: Virtual machine management: A Back to the Future technology
• C.J. Kelly: Cyber security job open at DHS
• Jerri Ledford: It's still not about the money
• Mitch Betts: Hot job: Computer forensics grads can get six-figure salaries
• Heidi Biggar: Okay, another acronym
• Shark Tank: What Did You Expect?
• Martin MC Brown: Open source backup grows up
• Douglas Schweitzer: The Internet, both blessing and curse for business

And finally... DIY mobile drive in movie theater

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk. Also contributing to today's post: Judi Dey, our very own Antipodean.