The BBC have redesigned their homepage, in a much more web2.0, widgetized theme. You can drag modules around like iGoogle. They’ll also soon be adding the iplayer to the new page (which in case you didn’t know let’s you view the last 7 days worth of BBC programming online for free - streamed online).

From a purely design point of view, I feel the design is too “chunky”, large text, large buttons e.t.c. Overall, for the BBC’s audience, I think they’ve done a great job. Even the current BBC’s homepage hasn’t had it’s shortage of praise for it’s usability and functionality. The overall color scheme on this new design (green in the below screenshot) also changes when you switch between the 4 feature items which is a kind of interesting choice.

The homepage is in BETA right now - screenshot below, click it to preview..

I loved this laid-back attitude which is so hard to find in most parts of the world, this is during a recent trip to Panama. No - there’s no fence between the runway and the pitch, and yeah they are full-size permanent goals! When I was there the planes were landing going toward the pitch, and taking off going away from it.

Click the photo for larger version - it says it all!

I’ve just received an email from Amazon about a new service they’ll be rolling out soon. Amazon SimpleDB, which will compliment their growing range of web services, will work with Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) and the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) to provide the ability to store, process and query datasets in the cloud.

This is something that many developers will find attractive. I know we use Amazon web services for some of our larger web properties, for a range of things from backups to image hosting, and this new addition could be useful for several uses.

Amazon Says “Traditionally, this type of functionality has been accomplished with a clustered relational database that requires a sizable upfront investment, brings more complexity than is typically needed, and often requires a DBA to maintain and administer. In contrast, Amazon SimpleDB is easy to use and provides the core functionality of a database - real-time lookup and simple querying of structured data - without the operational complexity.”

This will be appealing to startups, as setting up complex database solutions can be costly. Existing companies can also reap benefits, but being web-based, if speed is of importance you’d be better off maintaining your own database infrastructure.

The private BETA will be available in a few weeks - I can’t wait to try it out. Drop a comment if you’re interested to hear about our experiences with it.

“Jackass 2.5″, the latest of the Jackass movies will be released online first, free to view, before following the more traditional route of pay-per-view TV, DVD and iTunes. I think this is a fantastic move by Paramount pictures, who are calling it “the first studio-backed feature film to have its premiere online.”

The above video is a preview - the actual movie will be available online from Dec 19 for two weeks.

Via TechCrunch

Here’s my list of cool mac apps.. All work with tiger - most work with leopard..
(more…)

31CW launched a new site today - check it out..

ZubZego has received several hundred inquiries about an affiliate program, so we’re pleased to announce anyone can now signup to become a ZubZego affiliate, earning $30 commission per referral.

Click here for the details..

A new pact between the French government, service providers and the music industry will see P2P users in France risk loosing their internet connections if they download music or films illegally.

Interesting development, this really doesn’t surprise me coming from the country in which you need a license to design websites, and is pretty strict when it comes to the law. Imagine if other countries did this?

NYTimes has more..

“This is, hmmm, oh my oh my, what a lovely home. The chandelier is just to die for. Whoops, there it goes, coming down – Oh, darling, are you alright? Here, better sign your will . . .”No, I’m not writing about a house. This title and description belongs to a Crumpler camera bag, a company that I find out of focus. But at least they’re breaking the mould. Everywhere.And fom the same comic company.. “The Pretty Boy MAXI comes in four different colours and is exactly the same as the Pretty Boy Mini except its way bigger, has internal dividers and looks totally different.”

Where does Google Translate get this stuff?