Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Yahoo New Latest customize Home Page


At first glance the organization of the latest home page doesn’t look dramatically different. Yahoo launched of its brand new customizable home page, the first major revamp to the page since 2006. But it soon becomes apparent that this is no longer a one-size fits all Web destinations.
If you like to check the new layout then try this yahoo.com/trynew.

On the upper right, you’ll see the 10 most popular Internet searches. In the middle of the page you’ll find basic news headline links, a mix of hard news, softer stuff and local news. Near the top of the page (and just below a large Yahoo search box) you can enter your own social networking status. But the biggest deal concerns a My Favorites panel running down the left side of the screen. The list includes the requisite Yahoo properties, including Yahoo Autos, Finance, Mail, and Messenger, among others.. But several third party sites also populate the list, including eBay, Facebook, and MySpace.

The company hasn’t made any changes to the fully customizable My Yahoo page, which is currently used by about 50 million people. Yahoo plans to roll out the page in France, India and the UK by the end of the week, with a mobile version also coming soon.Currently the new Yahoo home page is an “opt-in” beta.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Is Today technology skills improved?

Researched by Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Children’s Digital Media Center, Los Angeles.

Today technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved, according to research.

“If we want to develop a variety of skills, we need a balanced media diet. Each medium has costs and benefits in terms of what skills each develops.”

Among the studies Greenfield analyzed was a classroom study showing that students who were given access to the Internet during class and were encouraged to use it during lectures did not process what the speaker said as well as students who did not have Internet access. When students were tested after class lectures, those who did not have Internet access performed better than those who did.

More than 85 percent of video games contain violence, one study found, and multiple studies of violent media games have shown that they can produce many negative effects, including aggressive behavior and desensitization to real-life violence, Greenfield said in summarizing the findings.

In another study, Video game skill predicted laparoscopic surgery skills, Greenfield said. “The best video game players made 47 percent fewer errors and performed 39 percent faster in laparoscopic tasks than the worst video game players.”

Visual intelligence has been rising globally for 50 years. Greenfield believes much of this change is related to our increased use of technology, as well as other factors, including increased levels of formal education, improved nutrition, smaller families and increased societal complexity, etc.