This is very cool.

Yahoo has publically released both Core UI Utilities & UI Controls as well as their design pattern library

Think of these as ethnographic observations rather than recommendations, but Marc Hedlund over at O’Reilly has listed seven software development practices he’s seen duplicated in several “Web 2.0” startups:

1. The shadow app – detailed glimpses into user behavior on your public-facing application
2. Sampling and testing – why debate features over and over when you can roll out a test and quickly decide which option your users “animal brains” prefer?
3. Build on your own API – “eat your own dogfood” and develop your app using the same api that you make publically accessible
4. Ship timestamps not versions – continuous minor changes spell the death of major versions
5. Developers—and users—do the quality assurance – take away the developer’s net; intimately connected to the next point
6. Developers and executives do the support – make developers responsible for not only building but also answering customer questions and compaints about specific features
7. The eternal beta – this one’s been talked about a lot; Marc makes the point that it grows out of the reorientation caused by the preceeding behaviors.

Some very fun foodie figurines:

Spent some time this morning going through some of the the 70-odd presentations from Demo 2006

Here are some products that caught my eye

• Intelligent Cross-sell from CNET Channel – a rules-based engine for complicated merchandising combinations (demo)
• EQO – Skype on your cell phone using a Java Mobile app (demo)
• Krugle – a search engine for source code (demo)
• LogLogic – “Google for your system and application logs” (demo)
• MooBella – fresh icecream from a vending machine (demo)
• StreetDeck – hackable computer for your car with features out of the box that include mapping, mobile phone integration, satellite radio, mp3 player integration, dvd player, vehicle diagnostics, wifi synch and lots more, including a software development kit (demo)
• Plum – collect disaggregated information across the web, organize and share it if you want (demo)
• Riya – automatically organize your digital photos through face recognition along with some tantalizing search capabilities (demo)
• Pleo from Ugobe – really cool “organic robotics” technology applied to a friendly baby dinosaur (demo)
• Vizrea Snap – share and organize photos from your camera phone; unfortunately only for the Nokia N60 right now (demo)

There’s not necessarily a direct correllary between cool products and viable businesses, but I’m hoping these are able to take root.

I haven’t been posting here much, but check out Market Hardware’s Compass, where I’ve been posting regularly (along with colleagues Heidi Scanlon and Jim Short) about small business marketing, customer services, and various helpful online tools.