Yahoo Buys del.ico.us

Flickr last March, and del.ico.us yesterday.

Yahoo's buying social media apps left and right to get back the teens it loses to Google.

(Via Steve.)

Windows Live Local

Microsoft now has an answer to Google Maps: Windows Live Local.



Unfortunately, they don't have much detail on the Philippine capital and surrounding areas. Paging Microsoft Philippines: maybe NAMRIA can help put us on Bill's map in exchange for some free licenses. After all, our government loves free licenses from you guys. ;)

(Via Philipp Lenssen.)

J-Porn Impersonates K-Celeb

Leave it to Japanese porn innovator Moodyz to develop a new niche -- Asian celebrity impersonation.



In this case, it's an impersonation of Korean singer BoA.

Make Your Own MMOG

Richard Bartle points out Multiverse, an end-to-end MMOG development solution free for noncommercial use, launched last Tuesday.



The first game being built on the solution, Kothuria, actually boasts promising 3D screenshots. Wonder if Multiverse will bring down the barriers to MMOG development.

In-Game Dancing Equals Viral Fan Videos

New game design rule: put in movable cameras and dance moves so fans can produce viral videos.

RO2 Video Preview

A few months back, I hazarded a guess that Ragnarok Online II would trigger another wave of Internet café upgrades in the Philippines. After watching this video preview, I feel even more confident about that guess. Click play to see why.

Windows Live Mail Beta

Just acceped an invite to test the successor to Hotmail, Windows Live Mail Beta.

I have yet to see its snazzy new Web interface, but I like my big new 2GB inbox -- no more manually moving my Hotmail to offline storage in Outlook every few days. Good to see you're catching up with Gmail, Bill. Stay tuned for reviews.

IE Hole Through Google Desktop

Paging Bill Gates: a design flaw in Internet Explorer lets hackers exploit Google Desktop.

(Via Philipp Lenssen.)