Yahoo! + Google
After many rebukes at Microsoft’s attempt to buy them, Yahoo! finally went to Plan B which was to partner with Google to sell search ads.
This is actually the best move for the company. Yahoo! is a solid company whose largest downfall is its inability to successfully challenge Google’s leadership atop the search ad market. It’s that failure that led to the company’s depressed stock price. The two had a brief test partnership a few months ago and all signs pointed $$$.
Another few months should help relieve angry shareholders who will see that taking a bulk of the search ad stress from the company will allow it to better focus on all things Yahoo! does better than Google, like fantasy sports, news, photos, social networking, etc.
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Cinematical
Cinematical just released a brand spankin’ new design for its popular cinema news site. I have many problems with the site (grammar/spelling errors, relies on too much gossip, annoying writers who aren’t funny…), it’s still better than most at delivering current movie news.
The homepage now boasts a java slideshow that helps highlight feature articles. It’s helpful, but sort of small given the width of the main column. The design definitely looks more cinematic, but the color scheme detracts from the content a bit since the main grey color is drab. Grey helps highlight the main content column, but depresses the sidebar greatly, sans the main ad bar in the upper right hand corner, the occasion sidebar video, and the Top 5 Box Office list.
The link hover over the sidebar galleries is a nice effect, giving them a more cinematic/movie poster-ish feel.
