IT Masala

Officially Yahoo! Photos will be shutdown on Thursday, September 20, 2007, at 9 p.m. PDT. Until then, they are offering you the opportunity to move to another photo sharing service , download your original-resolution photos back to your computer, or buy an archive CD from our featured partner (for users of the New Yahoo! Photos only).

All you need to do is tell Yahoo what to do with your photos before they close, after which any photos remaining on Yahoo! Photos will be deleted and no longer accessible.

Suggested Photo sharing sites to migrate : Flickr, KODAK Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Photobucket

Submit your decision by Thursday, September 20, 2007, at 9 p.m. PDT. After that time, any photos remaining in Yahoo! Photos will be deleted.

[ Make your decision ] [ FAQ's ]

Yahoo has issued a critical security patch for Messenger to address zero-day exploits that take advantage of vulnerabilities in its Webcam ActiveX controls.

Problem :

Messenger users' computers could be at risk if they visit malicious Web sites or view other malicious HTML code. The attackers could then exploit security flaws in the Yahoo Webcam ActiveX control, a software package that is downloaded with Messenger.

So how fast is Yahoo in patching this problem ? 

eEye Digital Security discovered the flaw and reported it to Yahoo earlier this week. eEye gave the problem its highest risk rating; fellow security company Secunia did the same, labeling it "extremely critical." Yahoo issued the patch in an update on Thursday.

Download Security patch:

Yahoo's advisory on the problem states that anyone using a version of Messenger obtained before Friday should download the update.

[ zdnet ] 

Third party extensions including the widely used toolbars from Google, Yahoo, Ask, Facebook, LinkedIn, as well as social bookmark extension from  Del.icio.us and two anti-hacking add-ons, the Netcraft Anti-Phishing Toolbar and the PhishTank SiteChecker all put users at risk of having their browser infected with malicious code.

Unlike almost all of the extensions hosted at Mozilla, the foundation that created the open-source Firefox browser, these commercial extensions check for updates from servers controlled by their respective corporate overlords.  And they fail to check for extensions from servers with SSL certificates, which most users know as sites that start with https://.

one security extension, the McAfee SiteAdvisor add-on that warns users when they are about to visit a site known to host untrustworthy downloads or malicious code, correctly uses an https:// extension for updates.

UPDATE: Reader Johnny writes in the comments that the SiteAdvisor add-on is actually not safe:

Unlike the research suggests, McAfee SiteAdvisor is actually worse than any of these other major extensions. It periodically downloads completely unauthenticated code from McAfee's server, which it then executes with the same privileges as your browser.

Not only does this backdoor allow McAfee to do whatever they please with your computer, but a hacker can run any malicious code on your system without you ever noticing by simply spoofing the URL http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/safe/safe.js

More on the vulnerability from Ryan Naraine and Brian Krebs.

I always loook at different sites of what they offer on such events.. here are some logos shown off by some of the famous sites !

  Yahoo had a lively logo with animated flash ..

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!!!

Remember those beautiful framed prints from Flickr 333? Now you can have your own photos printed, matted and frame photos sent directly to your home by Imagekind.

How to Get to Imagekind: 

From the Flickr 'Do More' page, click on Imagekind and you'll be taken to the Flickr member page on Imagekind.

Select a photo, choose your framing options, and away you go. Imagekind also provides a way for people to sell their prints to others.

You can read more about Imagekind's service on their blog. Join the Imagekind group on Flickr for questions or comments.

Photos from Planet Vicster and diyosa.

via [ flickr's blog ]

The Wall Street Journal said:

Microsoft and Yahoo discussed a possible merger or other matchup that would pair their respective strengths, say people familiar with the situation. The merger discussions are no longer active, these people say, but that doesn't preclude the two companies from some other form of cooperation.

Briar Dudley's blog, The Seattle Times:

The New York Post owes everyone a good follow-up story. You can't just drop a bombshell that jerks around 80,000 Microsoft and Yahoo! employees, rocks Wall Street and then fizzles before the day is over.

The Post should investigate — and report — whether its anonymous investment banker sources made any money off the huge run in YHOO caused by its story. If the Post doesn't do this, the SEC might. We don't need any more reporter subpoenas.

At the very least, the Post needs to go back to its sources and clarify if and when Microsoft and Yahoo! ended their latest round of merger discussions.

According to SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists):

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth.

 

So what do you all think about this ? How can NY write something like this ? saying "unknown source" or "people" ,,,Do think Microsoft and Yahoo are really gonna merge ??

If yes will it affect Google's market share ??  I don't think Google might be worrying anything about this..as Google is GOD. Google is way beyond these two ..So maybe this merger isn't a potential problem for Google !

According to TechCrunch and USA Today - Yahoo is to close its popular Yahoo Photos service completely in the coming months, telling people to either switch to Flickr or leave to a number of other competing photo sharing services.

But when i visited it today morning , it dosen't seem anything like that.. Moreover the old page is changed and has a new look..

S what does all this mean ? Are they going to force everybody to shift to Flickr ? or Let users use both !! wait and watch !!

Yahoo Inc. has announced the availability if a web-based version of its free instant messaging service for Internet users who want to stay connected while away from their home computers.

The Yahoo Web Messenger service is prefect for use to travelers, workers whose employers block software downloads to company machines, cyber-cafe dwellers and people who simply cannot afford their own computers.

Yahoo senior vice president of communications Brad Garlinghouse said, “This really has great implications for the road warriors out there who are on the go. People have become quite accustomed to a non-stop accessible life.”

“The internet is evolving from a static experience where a web page is just a web page to where Web pages behave more like traditional desktop computer applications,” Garlinghouse added.

The main intention of Yahoo behind the launch of the new service is that, currently Sunnyvale, California-based Internet firm is competing with rivals Google and Microsoft for the commitment of Internet users whose visits can be parlayed into online advertising revenue.

Note : At present Yahoo Web Messenger service is available in India, Brazil, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and the United States.

Mostly everybody is inspired by the success of Meebo.com. Good thing to see that everybody is gonna provide web messenger !! cool.. 

Note : You need to have java installed on your pc to use this web messenger.

[ Yahoo Web Messenger ] 

AOL has launched a new beta homepage and its design looks like a perfect replica of the Yahoo! homepage- a year old page. With AOL launching its services at different places , this should not be their strategy !! No creativity ??? something wrong with their marketing strategy ?

What do you think?

At present on the net there are hell lot of sites distributing lyrics, not legally of course. Yahoo's song lyrics, in contrast, are supposed to be the official versions. Under the licensing agreement, Yahoo will share with copyright holders the revenue from the ads that will be displayed alongside the lyrics.

The 400,000 song lyrics included in Yahoo's database span about 9,000 different artists, ranging from old standbys such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan to more recent stars like Radiohead and Beyonce. 

Gracenote Chief Executive Craig Palmer said licensing lyrics should boost worldwide music publishing revenues, estimated at about $4 billion annually, with the words to songs ultimately providing as much as $100 million in annual revenues in about 10 years as the market expands with new opportunities like online subscriptions, downloads and automotive distribution deals.

Yahoo, Gracenote launch lyrics service [Reuters]
Yahoo expands its online music section [USA Today]