Yahoo! Spectator

Yahoo! Toolbar Disables Right Click in Firefox

2009-07-27T11:17:00.001-04:00

The Yahoo! Toolbar is one of my favorite browser add-ons, providing quick access to my bookmarks, alerts, calendar, contact list, groups, and other frequently used applications.

But since the last update for the Firefox version (2.0.0.20090605061254), there’s been a glitch (not manifest when using the toolbar in Internet Explorer). The right click context menu pops up as usual until the user right-clicks in a text or input box in a form. Then it’s disabled until the browser is restarted.

Disabling the toolbar solves the problem, but that’s not a work-around for folks like me who depend on it.

What Happened to Folder Preview in Mail?

2009-07-21T05:37:00.001-04:00

Nobody likes a kvetch. But hey Yahoo!, I’ve got complaint about the new, unimproved version of Yahoo! Mail Classic.

Yes, I’m one of those fuddy-duddies who still uses Mail Classic (Pro version) because it’s faster, more reliable, and more readable.

And because it used to show me, across the top of the page, all the folders containing unread mail. See, I really am a fuddy-duddy. I use filters and folders to sort incoming mail automatically.

It used to be that all I had to do was glance at the folder preview to see what needed attention.

Now I get to see my face or my Avatar (as if I didn’t know what that looked like) and I have the option to edit my Profile (as if that changed every day), or to check out my Connections (I’m not lonely; I don’t use connections).

I know, I know. It’s all about social networking. But this is about email. When I want to to connect I go to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Dear Yahoo! please stop trying to be all things to all people and stop sissifying my email. Please put folder preview back in mail!

Make Yahoo! Default Email

2007-05-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

I know, the big news today is that Yahoo! and Microsoft are talking merger. But that didn't help me as I tried to set up Yahoo! Mail as the default email program on a new PC. It used to be that you could go to Yahoo! Mail Help and find a link for an ActiveX download that would do the trick. But no more.

Rooted around in Yahoo! Help. Searched the techie forums. Tried Ask.com and Yahoo! Answers (does anybody real ever ask or answer there?). Just spinning my wheels. By the way, you'll find this link -- http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/mail/ext/ext-11.html -- everywhere. Don't bother with it. It doesn't work anymore.

The answer is you need to install Yahoo! Messenger -- the PC client by download, not the web version. You can get it here: http://messenger.yahoo.com. The download will install Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Browser Services, and Yahoo! Internet Mail. You can keep the first two, if you like, or just uninstall them from Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs.

Following the installation, you'll find Start Menu, Desktop, and QuickLaunch icons for Yahoo! Mail. Also, from Control Panel > Internet Options > Programs > Email you'll be able to switch from the current Email program (Outlook Express by default) to Yahoo! Mail. (You can get there from IE > Tools also.)

Now when you click on a mail link, IE will open with a Yahoo! Compose Mail window. Yahoo!

My Web not Their Web

2006-07-01T09:32:00.000-04:00

Yahoo! describes My Web as

A personal search product that enables users to save, find, and share favorite web pages.

The new, second beta is sexier, faster and better organized than the first. Hooray for Yahoo! But it until it permits the user to default to saving and finding his or her own web pages, it should be called Their Web.

I know I'm probably in the minority, but frankly my dear I'm not all that interested in "My Contacts" (don't have or want any at the moment), what's "Interesting Today" (this is not game time, it's find time), or viewing the "Most Popular Tags" (when did search become a popularity contest).

As a psychologist I fully understand the appeal of social interaction. But as a professional, I'd like to have the option to opt out when I'm in work mode.

Like Mr. Sinatra, I'd like to be able to say, "I did it my way."

P.S. To make My Web really handy, it needs to be added to the right-click, context menu.

Monetizing Search Results

2006-06-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

Knowledgeable researchers always use at least two search engines for any important query. That usually means Google and either Yahoo! or MSN Search or perhaps A9. Since I use so many Yahoo! tools, I sometimes search Yahoo! first, and am surprised at how often it disappoints.

For example, this morning I looked up Ajax13, which I'd seen mentioned last night in a BusinessWeek article that talks about MS Office alternatives. Yahoo!'s first result was not relevant; the balance of the first page of results was primarily a list of blogs and news that mentioned Ajax13. However, both Google and MSN provided the relevant result -- AjaxLaunch -- as the first result. Amusingly, the same situation applies when I search for this blog, Yahoo! Spectator, by name.

Some folks tell me Yahoo! disappoints because it still relies on results from its Directory (remember when you had to be in it to get any action?), but I see no evidence of that. The sites submitted to the Yahoo! Directory aeons ago no longer appear when I search with the keywords used to index them. Others say webmasters still haven't gotten over the days when submitting to Yahoo! was either a trial by torture or too costly. But that's history. (For the few who don't know, the Yahoo! submission page is here .) And some say Yahoo! is stale -- doesn't have timely results. That's just bull. Check the cache dates.

And then there are the cognoscenti who offer up mealy-mouthed discussions about algorithms. After all, they point out, everyone knows the Googlista run rings around the Yahooligoons. Not! So what's a gal or guy to think?

Anybody want to bet it comes down to monetization? I can't prove it, and haven't the time to test it thoroughly, but my gut says Yahoo! results are prioritized, in part, by how well they pay in Sunnyvale. One sure example: create a PRWEB press release and "contribute" at least $40. There's a very good chance Yahoo! will show it in the top slot for your keywords early on the morning of its release. Google and MSN Search will get to it in a few days, depending on its relevance, and often from a secondary source, not PRWEB.

Anything wrong with monetization? No. But it's nice to know when it's happening!

On My Yahoo! Mail Wishlist

2006-06-25T12:46:00.000-04:00

Top items on my wishlist for Yahoo! Mail are speed: Faster loading of the Yahoo! Mail Beta interface and faster loading of folders -- "loading" messages stink. And then there's the cavalier complaint about screen resolutions less than 1024 X 768:

There seems to be a screen resolution problem. Your screen resolution is set below our minimum recommendation. When it's set under 1024 x 768 pixels, the Yahoo! Mail Beta won't look as good.

Hey guys. The problem isn't my screen resolution, it's your design!

One-Click to Block Sender
Okay, so maybe those items were more in the nature of bitches than wishes. Here are two constructive criticisms that will improve Yahoo! Mail in its current and future incarnations. One thing that makes Yahoo! Mail really useful is its excellent SPAM filter. Of course, no filter is perfect, and many of the "misses" come from pests who can be banished by domain. To this end, Yahoo! Mail offers a blocklist (blacklist) of up to 500 addresses. Now what's needed is a one-click option to add an offender to the list. We already have "Add Sender to Contacts;" adding sender to blocklist should be a no-brainer. And how about a larger blocklist for Mail Plus clients?

More and Better Mail Filters
The other thing that makes Yahoo! Mail useful for professionals is that its built on a folder structure. (I know tagging and keeping everything a la Gmail sounds easier, but it's only as useful as the structure in your brain.) Yahoo! makes it easy to create folders and direct mail to them with user-configured filters (and SPAMGuard and AddressGuard). Ad-supported Yahoo! Mail offers 15 filters that sort on the From, To/CC, Subject and Body fields; Plus Mail has 50. Professionals need more, probably closer to 100 filter -- even more if they're not made more powerful. And how about adding power by enabling Regular Expressions? Under the current setup, it takes two filters to implement an OR condition. Note to Yahoo! designers: look at Mailwasher Pro for a really useful filter deployment.

Yahoo! Toolbar Tabs and Anti-Spy

2006-05-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

If you haven't tried the Yahoo! Toolbar for Internet Explorer yet, here are two good reasons why you should: tabs and anti-spyware.

I use Firefox and Opera, so I know they've had tabs forever, and Internet Explorer 7 does, too. But IE7 is still a Beta, and IE6, the default browser for most designers, has no tabs -- unless you install the Yahoo! Toolbar, which does a nice, trouble-free tabs implementation. Now if only Yahoo! tabs could be re-ordered by drag and drop!

As for Yahoo!'s Anti-Spy, it's a terrific bonus. Everyone should be running active anti-virus and anti-spy software -- Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare is an excellent choice for most users -- but everyone should also have a fall-back alternative. Yahoo!'s Anti-Spy, actually a free version of Guardian/Computer Associates' Pest Patrol, is a fast, easy-to-use, and frequently updated on-demand scanner that catches spyware others miss. As a second alternative, I recommend the highly-reviewed Spy Bot Search & Destroy.

Both features can be enabled or disabled at will.

P.S. When installing the Yahoo! Toolbar, watch the options. It defaults to setting Yahoo! as your homepage and default search engine.

Just Scroll Down -- NOT!

2006-04-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's the little things that make or break an application.

Although I use and generally like Yahoo! Mail Plus, every time I open an HTML-formatted email containing graphics, I wonder if Yahoo!'s designers actually use their products.

Like many geeks and business types, I send and receive email in text rather than HTML for speed and safety. But sometimes I get an email, say from a respected merchant, containing graphics that I want or need to see. Like the one from TigerDirectB2B.com whose images not only portray the product, but also the price. Shame on the Tiger.

If I scroll down all three screens of TigerDirectB2B.com's email, I arrive at Yahoo's parting line: The HTML graphics in this message have been blocked. [Show HTML Graphics - Edit Preferences]

If you had designed the Yahoo! email navigation -- and used it -- wouldn't you have included the option to "Show HTML Graphics" at the top of the email, where it's needed? Shame on Yahoo!

Got My Groove Back with Yahoo! LAUNCHCast

2006-04-11T08:18:00.000-04:00

It was a bright sunny day in the late 1970s. I had just wrapped up my first year as a Radio Shack District Manager. In appreciation, the company had swapped out my modest black Ford Granada for a creamy white Cutlass Supreme coupe with a maroon velour interior. And a fabulous stereo. I'd turned around the Bronx and Westchester District, and was riding down Park Ave, the tony thoroughfare running more or less down the middle of my new turf -- Manhattan. All that was missing were some crisp, cool tunes. I switched on the radio to my favorite FM station, WRVR, which played all jazz all the time. Miles and Coltrane, Grusin, Marsalis. Yes!

Actually, no. It turned out that was the day WRVR, virtually without fanfare, dropped jazz and became a country music station. Country music in the Big Apple? You're right, it didn't last long, but all jazz radio was gone, too. At least in the greater New York area. Oh sure, I could find jazz "hours," Sunday morning jazz on AM, and once in a while, a clear channel AM jazz station from America's heartland. And New York has jazz brunches, jazz clubs, and piano bars featuring jazz. But it wasn't until Internet radio became reliable that I could find another all jazz station.

There's a good one in Seattle, KPLU 88.5 FM, whose tagline is "NPR News and All That Jazz." Good stuff, professional DJs, but jeez, those public radio appeals, appeals, appeals. Can't I just pay my money and listen?

Well, not to KPLU, but now there is a way. It's Yahoo's LAUNCHcast. And you don't even have to pay your money ($3.99 by the month, $35.99 annually), unless you want to eliminate advertisements. The LAUNCHcast tagline "Music that listens to you," tells most of the story. This is personalized Internet radio. You start out by telling Yahoo! what genres (I like jazz, classical, some country, big band, etc.) and artists you'd like to hear. That's what LAUNCHcast plays. As they play, you rate the songs, albums, and artists to change the probability they'll be played in the future. You won't hear genres you don't like. You can skip songs that turn you off. And you can tell LAUNCHcast never to play a song, album or artist again. And it won't!

There's more to it, of course. But I'm not doing a commercial here, although I do need to mention one more feature I like. By downloading and installing Yahoo!'s free Music Engine -- also a great way to play LAUNCHcast and play/transfer/burn all the music on your PC -- I can painlessly buy a copy of a favorite tune for $0.99 (less if I were to subscribe to Music Unlimited).

Now you know how I got my groove back. Got introduced to Diana Krall and Chris Botti. Found Mickey Finn and his Honky Tonk Piano. Caught up with Charlie Mingus, the Marsalis family (and you think the Jacksons are hyperactive!), and Stephane Grappelli. And fell in love with Ella all over again. Thanks Yahoo!

What's It All About?

2006-04-10T15:05:00.000-04:00

The Yahoo! Spectator is not affiliated with Yahoo!, except that its author, Lou Bruno, owns a small number of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) shares.

The Spectator is neither a rant, nor a rave; not a compendium of solutions, nor a source of hacks and add-ons. Not the work of a Yahoo! guru, it's just one user's take on Yahoo! services -- one computer guy sharing some of his likes, dislikes, pointers and suggestions.

Yahoo!