Now, I don’t want to go off on too much of a Web OS riff here, but this sure smells a lot like the late 80s, when small, interesting utility companies were being bought (or destroyed) by MSFT. These days, folks are building companies to sell them to Yahoo, Google, and MSFT. It’s good to have three options … more like five, really, with AOL and IAC. Picasa, Keyhole, Konfabulator, Bloglines….
Update: First off, I was reminded by a cast of thousands that Konfabulator works with Windows too. Sorry. And Jeff has this to say in response to my question:
So the plan is to make Konfabulator free (which we did on Monday), to expand the audience for widgets from thousands to millions. Next step is to do more to support and expand the already-tremendous developer community that this product has attracted, and greatly extend the number of widgets powered by Yahoo! (and the APIs that make them possible). This will make Yahoo! better for users because it will let us go beyond the browser, creating an always-on user experience that lets you get to your Yahoo! data in a way that makes sense to you.
Thanks, Jeff!