Yahoo is shutting down Delicious, heralding the end of a tasty era

by Matthew Rogers on December 16, 2010 at 05:00 PM

Del.icio.us has lived a long life -- having been around since 2003 -- but Yahoo! has confirmed the demise of the delectable bookmark service. It comes as no surprise after news of the company's recent layoff blitz, and the Delicious team has been on the list of expected victims for well over a year. It's not the only property getting the "sunset" treatment from Yahoo!, either; Yahoo! Picks, Yahoo! Bookmarks, Alltheweb, Altavista, and MyBlogLog are all going the way of the dinosaur along with it.

While it's a bit sad to see such an aged fixture of the Internet begin to fade away, it's also a sign of the times. Bookmarking services in general just don't seem to have the draw that they did back in their glory days. Browsers that sync bookmarks, whether through a built-in system or a plug-in, have taken a firm hold on the issue of multi-computer bookmarking. Social networks have become just as good at sharing links as sites that were built to simply share links. So really, mourning sites like Delicious is akin to yearning for the days when we had to install a special plug-in just to get tabs in our browsers, isn't it?

Even if it isn't, there's still the fact that it had the misfortune of becoming a property of Yahoo! -- a company that can't even keep itself relevant. So this round of layoffs, "sunsets," mergers, and scale-backs is not likely to be the last. Tags: bookmarks, del.icio.us, delicious, layoffs, social bookmarking, social networking, SocialBookmarking, SocialNetworking, yahoo

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Yahoo outs Messenger 11 beta with loads of new features

Filed under: Yahoo!, Social Software

Yahoo! Messenger remains one of the most popular desktop IM clients around, and its users are now able to get a taste of what's coming in version 11. Like its biggest competition -- Windows Live Messenger -- Y! Messenger 11 is about creating a more current, social messaging app.

One of the biggest additions is Facebook chat support -- which works nicely, though former Squadder Brad Linder noted that Meebo thought I was offline. Twitter support has been added, and Messenger 11 also offers write-once-post-everywhere updates to Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo! Pulse. More social gaming options have been added, and will soon include Zynga's Mafia Wars and Fishville. Yahoo! Messenger 11 also allows multiple sign-ins, so you won't get disconnected from your desktop if you sign in on your mobile device. Windows 7 users can change status, send messages, and sign in and out via Messenger 11's jump list.

In his announcement, Yahoo's John Dunning also has some good news for Android users. Yahoo! Messenger for Android will be updated soon with better video chat support. Currently, only users with an EVO or MyTouch 4G can utilize the feature, but additional handset support is on the way.

Download Yahoo! Messenger 11 beta for WindowsYahoo outs Messenger 11 beta with loads of new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo! rolling out Google Instant-like previews

Filed under: Symantec, Search

While it's not going to win points for a catchy name, Yahoo's new Rich Search Assist will provide some slick new functionality to its users. It's a bit like Google Suggest meets Google Instant Previews. Unlike Instant, however, Yahoo's previews appear in a floating element and only cover the top half of the page. Hover over a suggestion in the left column, and the preview appears on the right.

Yahoo's contextual customizations still appear in the previews as well -- like the Canon Eos pricing and specs in the screenshot or pro sports team snapshots. Rich Search assist is currently only available to a small number of testers, but it should be rolling out to all Yahoo! users in the very near future.

Search Engine Land has shared a YouTube clip of Rich Search Assist in action -- check it out after the break!


Yahoo! rolling out Google Instant-like previews originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo launches Mafia Wars and FishVille

Filed under: Games, Internet, Web services, Yahoo!

Yahoo has just launched Mafia Wars and FishVille, two games developed by Zynga, the company best known for FarmVille and its other games on the Facebook platform. In the past few months though, Zynga has shifted away from being tied exclusively to Facebook and has launched its games on Windows Live Messenger, MSN Games -- and now Yahoo.

Mafia Wars and FishVille will appear in Yahoo Messenger, Yahoo Games, My Yahoo, Yahoo Pulse and Yahoo's browser toolbar. Starting the Zynga integration with just two games -- and not the most popular ones (where's FarmVille?) -- clearly means that Yahoo is in sort of a testing phase. If all goes well, expect to see more Zynga titles on Yahoo's properties soon.

[via TechCrunch]Yahoo launches Mafia Wars and FishVille originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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